


Sunshine And Shadow

by WeWillSpockYou



Category: Dredd (2012), Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Case Fic, Dom/sub Undertones, Dominance, Hand Jobs, Jim's Sunshine, Joe's Shadow, Light Dom/sub, M/M, Masturbation, Mutual Masturbation, Oral Sex, Rough Kissing, Rough Oral Sex, Serial Killer, Shower Sex, Sleeping Together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-08
Updated: 2014-10-05
Packaged: 2018-02-03 20:26:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 37,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1756295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeWillSpockYou/pseuds/WeWillSpockYou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>James T. Kirk is a Street Judge from New Philadelphia sent to Old New York to work on a serial murder case with origins in Philly. Joe Dredd hates his new partner, or does he?</p><p>This is the first chapter of this series and will be updated every Sunday.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Judge Joseph Dredd was tired. It had been a long, hot, dirty day. All he wanted was a cold shower and a meal. This was the fifth murder this week where the female victim had her heart expertly carved from her chest.  Joe was sick of Doctor Heart and his sadistic killing spree, sick of seeing the terrified looks frozen on these women’s faces in their moment of death. He was even more sick of the smell of blood and the way it stuck in your nostrils for hours after you left a scene. He was just plain pissed that he hadn’t caught this creep yet, not even caught one decent lead so far. This guy was a ghost.

“Control to Dredd.” His com crackled to life.

“Dredd here.”

“Report back to the Hall of Justice. Chief Judge Hershey needs to see you.”

“Acknowledged. On my way control.”

 

Chief Judge Barbara Hershey girded herself for the battle to come. She knew Dredd was going to fight this tooth and nail and wasn’t looking forward to the coming conversation. She had no idea how she was going to talk Joe into accepting this assignment with a new partner.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the man in question walking into her office. “You wanted to see me Chief.”

“Joe, this is Judge James Kirk, he’s from New Philadelphia.”

“What’s he doin’ here?” He had a bad feeling about this meeting and about the blonde kid sitting in Judge Hershey’s office.

“Judge Kirk is responsible for the apprehension of the black market organ dealers in the Doctor Heart case back in New Philadelphia.”

Old New York wasn’t Doctor Heart’s first rodeo. There had been a string of twenty-six unsolved murders all with the same MO in Philly. There were also several similar crimes in the DC metro area that were assumed to be Doctor Heart’s test cases;  back when he was a baby serial killer taking his first proverbial steps into a life of crime and destruction.  Kirk had been at the center of the investigation back in Philly. It was also due to his hard work and dedication that they were able to link the DC cases to Doctor Heart. This was why Hershey had asked for him to come to Old New York and work with her best judge to catch this son of a bitch before anymore women died. The body count here was already at twelve.

“I’m also sitting right here.” Kirk stood and strode to Joe. “Jim Kirk.” He offered his hand. Dredd looked down at it and back up at Judge Hershey, dismissing him outright.

“Again, what’s he doin’ here?” His patience was quickly running out. Even through the visor he could see how blue Kirk’s eyes were. He hated blue eyes.

“He’s your new partner, Joe. You’ll work the Doctor Heart case together.” Hershey took a deep breath to prepare for Dredd’s temper.

“OH, no. No. Barbara, we’ve been through this before with me and partners. It never works out.  No, over my dead body.”

“That can be arranged, Dredd.” Jim smirked at him. 

Dredd ignored him. Kirk had a bright, sunshiny smile. Joe hated bright, sunshiny smiles.

“He’s young Joe, but he’s good, real good. You will do well together.”

“Again, I’m right here.” Jim was looking back and forth and at the other judges. Neither was giving any ground and why the hell hadn’t Dredd taken of his damn helmet?

Joe grunted and walked out the door.

Jim followed him, whistling a happy tune.

 

Jim stayed several steps behind Dredd as they walked back to the motor pool to retrieve their Lawmasters. He had always thought the way a man carried himself spoke volumes about the kind of man he was. Joseph Dredd’s spine was ramrod straight. His posture, perfect. He was a man who would face things head on, he would never be the type to bend or break under any circumstances.  His strides were long and measured. Dredd knew who he was, no question about it, more importantly he knew where he was going.  He was not a man who hesitated in anything.

Dredd also had an ass that was made for a good, hard ride. His sculpted cheeks were encased in his tight leathers and his hips swayed back and forth.  Under other circumstances Jim would have been all over that, no man had the right to move that way. It was a dammed shame the man in question was such a self- involved prick.

He pushed his personal opinions of his partner aside and turned his mind to the professional matters at hand. How were they going to catch Doctor Heart? More importantly, how were they going to manage to work together without killing each other?

 

Dredd knew the kid was behind him. He could hear him whistling some ridiculous tune. He hated whistlers. No one had the right to be that grud-dammed happy in this sorry excuse for a world.

They had reached the ground level of the Hall of Justice. Dredd needed some time to himself to even the playing field. It was obvious this kid, this Judge Kirk knew who he was, while all Joe knew in return was that he was a blonde-haired, blue eyed, smiling, whistler. He hated blonde-haired, blue eyed, smiling, whistlers.

He grunted again at the kid and headed toward the men’s room.

“Good talk.” Jim called after him. Dredd shook his head and shoved his way into the men’s room.

 

It turned out Kirk was as good as Hershey said he was. Orphaned at age seven, he was two years past recruitment age for the Academy of Law, but he was given the Judges exam based on his high IQ and off the chart aptitude scores. He’d passed with flying colors, scoring even higher than Joe had. He had been first in his class and due to his natural abilities and accelerated course work was graduated two years ahead of schedule for him, but right on time with the other young men and women of his own age group. As a rookie Judge, Kirk was honored with meritorious commendations twice within his first six months on the job, leading his superiors to take the unprecedented step of making him a full-fledged judge well shy of the end of his probationary term.

Supervisor reports listed Kirk as dedicated, incorruptible and brilliant. The only thing Dredd could find fault with in Kirk’s record was his bleeding heart. His record listed several charitable organizations with whom Kirk was affiliated and there were several pictures in his file of Kirk surrounded by young smiling faces, wearing a charming smile on his own face. Charming? What the fuck was wrong with him? There was nothing charming about liberal-minded bleeding hearts. Dredd knew the type, men that got themselves killed quicker than you could say the word and had a nasty way of getting everyone else around them killed as well. _Fucking great,_ Joe thought as he shut off Kirk’s record and flushed the toilet. _Fucking great._

 

Joe felt more at ease now that he knew more about the new kid. It wasn’t going to make working with him any easier, but at least Joe knew what he was dealing with; a do-gooder. Joe hated do-gooders.

Kirk was pacing across the great seal as Joe reappeared. “Everything come out alright?” He was grinning again.

Dredd grunted and started toward the doors.

“Hey Dredd.” Kirk came up from behind and grabbed his elbow.

Dredd froze. He could feel the heat from Jim’s hand sear through his leather jacket.  He stared down and Jim’s hand on his arm and then looked back up at him. He growled.

“Yeah, about that, Joe. The growling is cute and I’m sure it keeps people from talking to you most of the time, as does the fact that you’re still wearing your helmet. But give me a fuckin’ break here. We gotta work together and let’s face it neither one of us wants that. We do need to communicate. So does one grunt mean yes and two grunts mean no or what?”

Dredd looked down at Jim’s hand still on his arm. Damn kid hadn’t gotten the message not to touch him. He jerked his arm out of Kirk’s grasp. “Let’s go.” His voice sounded like broken glass grinding together.

“It speaks.” Jim crowed happily as they made their way outside. 

 

Jim and Joe walked outside to where their Lawmasters were parked. Joe started his up and began to pull away from the curb.

“HEY!” Kirk shouted.

Dredd turned and Jim strode to him. “Partners, remember?” He shouted to be heard over the roar of the bike. “I have never been here before and you haven’t told me where we’re going.”

“Kid, I was in the middle of a scene when Hershey called me out to attend your welcome gala. I’d like to get back to work. It’s what some of us do here. We work, we don’t sit around and make friendship bracelets. We work.”

“How about an address for my GPS?”

Dredd gave it to him begrudgingly and tore off toward the crime scene.

“Friendship bracelets, my ass.” Kirk called after him.

 

Jim was walking the crime scene alone. Dredd was off grud knows where, so Jim was content to gather intel on his own. He had seen pictures of the victim on his viewer and could tell by the precise knife marks they were dealing with Doctor Heart. What puzzled Jim was the senselessness of these crimes. Artificial hearts were a safe, viable option if your own was no longer functioning at full capacity. There was no need to steal live hearts from their owners.

Jim spotted Dredd about 100 feet away, he was talking to another Judge who got on his Lawmaster and drove off. Dredd headed back to Jim.

“Seen what you need, kid.” Dredd mumbled to Jim.

“Yeah, where to nex-”  Jim was interrupted by a speeding van jumping the curb and veering straight toward them. Jim barreled into Joe and sent him flying out of the way of the van. He wasn’t nearly fast enough as the van clipped his foot as it careened past the Judges and into a nearby pillar.  Jim was lying on top of Joe.

“Fuck. Kid, you okay?” Dredd was breathing heavy.

Jim nodded and slid to the side and off of Dredd. His foot hurt but he was fine otherwise.

Dredd ran to check on the driver of the van. He was a bloody mess and obviously dead. Joe could smell booze and could see empty liquor containers littering the inside of the van. He called for a meat wagon and headed back to Jim, who was still on the sidewalk.

Joe reached down a hand and Jim took it. Joe hauled him back to his feet and reached out for his shoulders once he was back on his feet to steady him. At least that’s what Joe told himself. Truth of the matter was that he was a bit shaken up. If not for Jim, someone would be calling the meat wagon for him.

Jim pulled back from Joe’s too hot hands. He could feel his hands tremor as they held his shoulders and he knew Dredd wasn’t holding Jim up so much as he was keeping himself from falling down. He tested his foot to see how much weight it could bear. He was able to manage okay, the rest he’d fake if need be.

“Can you ride?”

“Sure thing.” Like he had a choice, he was a Street Judge, of course he could ride.

“Past five kid, we’re done for the day.”

“You know a good place to stay? Didn’t have time to settle those details.”

“Yeah Kirk, gotta spare bedroom. It’s yours for the night if you’re quiet.

 Jim smiled; pure sunshine. “Thanks, Dredd.”

 Fuck, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed, whistling, do-gooder had saved his life. He hated…no, he didn’t.

[](http://postimage.org/)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you all think of Jim Kirk being a Street Judge in Mega-City One? 
> 
> Joe Dredd is an interesting man. His view of the world he lives in is very black and white. Jim sees things in shades of grey and over time they are both going to accept the other for how they think and maybe even adopt an attitude or two from each other. 
> 
> If you love Dredd/Jim fic, please check out my friend ReadItHoney's story in this collection called Housepest. It's a must read an you will LOVE her Dredd!
> 
> ***My amazing friend LopsidedWhiskeyGrin drew this incredible picture of Jim and Joe's meeting. Please stop by her Tumblr page http://lopsided-whiskey-grin.tumblr.com/ and tell her how much you love her work!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judge Dredd takes Judge Kirk home with him.

Jim followed Joe back to his block and parked his Lawmaster in the same space with Dredd’s. He reached into the saddlebag of his bike and pulled out his rucksack of hastily packed belongings. Jim was dog-tired, having started his day back in Philly where he was called into a meeting and told to pack a bag and head to Old New York. It turned into a four hour ride with traffic and accidents and all he wanted was a shower and a cold beer. Bunking for the night with his cantankerous new partner was not what he had in mind. Jim yanked his helmet off and took a deep breath.

Joe started for the elevator and Jim followed, favoring his injured foot as he went. “Need ice for that.” He muttered.

Jim nodded. “Thanks.”

The elevator dinged and Jim followed Joe to his apartment door. They were met with blessedly cool air as they stepped inside. Joe shut and triple locked the door behind Jim and reached up to take his helmet off. Jim turned around to ask where the bathroom was and he was met with the most beautiful pair of green eyes he had ever seen in his life. He knew his eyes widened in surprise and hoped Dredd hadn’t caught it too.

“Whatcha gawkin’ at kid?”

“Nothing, just never seen you without the helmet before is all.”

“Yeah, well take a holo-pic, they last longer.”

Jim sighed, “Bathroom?”

“Down the hall on the left, spare room is next door. Yell if you need anything.” Dredd moved toward the kitchen.

“How about a beer?” Jim yelled, smile flashing.

Joe grunted.

 

Jim was quick about it knowing Dredd needed to clean up as well. This was always his favorite part of the day, standing under the warm spray of the shower and feeling his worries and cares slide from his skin. The sadness, grief, tragedy and worst of all the smell, sluiced off his body and swirled down the drain as well.

Joe’s soap smelled like flowers. Jim saw a mental picture in his head of Joe wearing a flowered laurel around his ever present helmet. He burst out laughing. He couldn’t help it, laughing so hard, he had to brace an arm against the shower wall to keep his balance. He knew Joe was a good Judge, everything he had read about the man was a testament to that, but he also thought he was a pretty good man too and figured Joe never let anyone get close enough to find out if that were true or not. Jim aimed to find out.

 

Dredd wondered what the hell was so dammed funny in the shower. Unless Jim was…NO, he was not going to think about that, was not going to see Jim wet and hard, cock in his soapy hand, skin sliding against skin. _Fuck_ , Joe thought as he shifted his stirring cock in his tight leather pants.  Just in time too as Jim strode from the bathroom. He was damp and wearing a grey tee and sleep pants.

“All yours.” He grinned.

Joe nudged a bottle of beer toward him. “Enjoy.” Joe mumbled.

“Thanks again, for everything, Dredd.”

Joe was about to shut the bathroom door when his curiosity won out. “What was so dammed funny?”

“Flowers.” Jim laughed again and tipped the mouth of the bottle at Joe in salute before taking a long pull.

Flowers?

 

Joe sighed as the spray of the shower beat down on his head. He turned to face the spray and opened his mouth so the pounding water could wash the taste of death from his mouth.

He hadn’t planned on any of this…the Doctor Heart Case, a new partner, said new partner saving his life. _Fuck_ , he thought, he needed to thank the kid for shoving him out of the way. He should have done it sooner, but his mind was working on a million other things.

He reached for the soap and the scent of flowers hit his nose. Ah, this must be what Jim was laughing about. He used this soap because nothing he encountered in his daily life smelled like flowers. When he was home he wanted nothing around that would connect him to his job. Guess that’s out the window now, he thought, with Jim staying here, his job was sitting in his living room. He’d brought Jim home like a stray dog. He still didn’t know why he’d done it, there were decent hotels close by, he could have recommended a bunch to Jim. “Stop lying, Dredd.” He mumbled to himself. He brought Jim home because he was lonely, it might be nice to have someone else to… To what? Talk to? Joe wasn’t much of a talker. To hang out with? Joe didn’t know how men hung out, he wasn’t one for friends. To fuck? Joe’s dick thought that was a great idea and stood proud to voice its approval. “Dammit, Jim.” He muttered as he soaped up his hand and reached for his mutinous cock.

 

Jim was starving. He got up and started to poke around Dredd’s fridge. He found beer, which was great, but not food. He went to the food pantry and had better luck. He grabbed some canned tomatoes and a box of raw pasta. Jim rummaged around a bit more until he found the oregano and pots to cook with. He didn’t have a lot to work with but there would be a lot of it and it would be hot. Jim hummed under his breath as he began to cook.

 

Joe had one arm braced against the shower wall and his other hand was wrapped around his soapy cock. He loved the feel of his rough hand against the velvet softness of his dick. In his mind, he saw an image of Jim, in the same position he was standing in, blonde hair darkened by the water, blue eyes shut tight, water cascading down his beautiful skin. In Joe’s mind, Jim’s hand was wrapped around his cock as his hips pistoned it in and out of his fist. He was moaning Joe’s name. Hearing his own name on Jim’s lips caused him to cry out himself as the first blast of come ripped from his cock and hit the shower wall. He tried to quiet his moans as his cock continued to erupt over his hand and the wall. He hoped Jim hadn’t heard him cry out. Fuck, had he cried out Jim’s name? Joe cleaned up his mess and braced both arms on the warm, wet tile. What the fuck was he going to do with his new partner and what the fuck was that smell? Joe hurried to dry off and dress himself then burst through the bathroom door running for the kitchen.

Jim was standing at the stove calmly stirring something in a pot. “Where’s the fire?”

“No fire, what’s this? Now that he knew nothing was amiss, he took a deep breath, it actually smelled good.

“Dinner, I thought I’d make pasta. Hope you don’t mind but I figured you’d be hungry after the day we had.” Jim smiled, hoping to soften the blow he knew was about to fall.

How dare this kid go through his stuff, even though he had nothing to hide? Joe was about to go nuclear, was one heartbeat away from it, when he noticed dishes set on the table, a fresh beer by each plate, he looked back at Jim and saw how tired he was, but he was still on his feet, on a wounded foot, no less, making them a hot, homemade meal. He took a deep breath and could smell tomatoes and oregano. His stomach growled and he realized he was being a prick in his own mind. Instead of yelling, he said, “Yeah, I am hungry, thanks, Jim.”

“You’re welcome, we’ll eat in ten minutes.” Jim smiled. He could see trouble was in Dredd’s eyes and body language as he ran in from the bathroom. Jim knew he had taken a big chance rifling through Joe’s things, even if his heart and his stomach had been in the right place. He imagined the look Joe had been giving him was the same one criminals saw when he confronted them. As mad as Joe seemed, Jim noticed he had come to some conclusion in his head that no harm was meant and he had calmed back down to his grumpy old self rather quickly. Jim strained the pasta and served up two heaping plates.

Dinner was a silent affair. Joe did manage to grunt in appreciation after the first bite. Jim considered that a victory and was content to leave the field undefeated in battle.

Joe was shoveling the pasta down so fast Jim was afraid he’d choke. Not that he wouldn’t appreciate the opportunity to wrap his arms around Dredd and squeeze but he could think of more pleasant ways to do that rather than having to perform the Heimlich Maneuver. Jim looked up from his own plate when he heard Joe’s fork strike his own bare plate. “Want more?”

Joe rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah.” Jim started to stand, but Joe held up a hand to stop him. “I’ll get it. You should be off that foot.” Joe reached across the table and grabbed Jim’s plate too. He came right back with both plates heaped high.

“Thanks, Joe.”

Joe grunted in return and dug back in. When their plates were clean again, Dredd pointed Jim to the couch and cleaned up his kitchen, doing the dishes and putting away what little pasta remained. He grabbed a plastic bag and dug into the ice tray for cubes, which he loaded into the bag. He tied it up and wrapped it in a dishtowel before he grabbed his first aid kit.

Jim was sitting on the couch mindlessly watching some sporting event. Joe sat down on the coffee table in front of Jim and pointed to his injured foot.

Jim gave him a questioning eyebrow.

“Foot.” Joe grunted

“Why?” Jim grunted back.

Joe sighed. _Use your words, Joe_ , he said to himself. “I need to see how bad you’re hurt, Jim. Get you fixed up.”

Jim smiled, wow, two whole sentences, sort of. He raised his foot and Dredd gently set it on his knee. It was swollen but the skin wasn’t broken. Joe reached for Jim’s toes, earning a giggle from his patient. He met Jim’s eyes and arched an eyebrow. Fuck, were Jim’s eyes blue. Joe couldn’t remember ever seeing eyes like that before, not that he looked very often. Most of the time what he saw in other people’s eyes scared the fuck out of him; rage, fear, sadness, despair, loneliness.  He knew some of those things shone in his own eyes, but in Jim’s he saw none of those things. All he could see in his eyes was how tired he was, it had been a long day for Joe and he hadn’t faced a four hour ride on the bike. Jim must be ready to drop at any second.

He wiggled each toe, checking for breaks and when he got to the last one, Jim cried out, “And this little piggy was a bad little piggy, who cried, wee, wee, wee, all the way home.” Jim broke into giggles and Joe barely quirked his lips. If Jim hadn’t been watching closely he would have missed it. Jim pointed at Joe and laughed harder.

“Infant.” Joe muttered under his breath.

Jim quieted down as he continued to walk his fingers across Jim’s foot, checking for damage. Jim remained silent until Joe’s probing fingers reached his ankle. Jim hissed in response.

“It’s not broken, but should be wrapped up.”

Jim nodded and leaned back into the couch. He watched Joe through heavy lidded eyes. He was a study in economy; no words and no actions were wasted. He worked easily with competent hands wrapping Jim’s ankle tightly, sticking a finger under the wrap to make sure it wasn’t too tight. He grabbed a pillow on the nearby chair and slid it under Jim’s foot. He arranged the makeshift icepack around the ankle and pulled a dark blue blanket from the back of the couch. He draped it over Jim and moved to sit next to him on the couch. “Thanks, Jim.” He said, meeting Jim’s eyes.

“For what?”

“Saving my life today.”

Jim smiled, “You’re welcome. Thanks for helping with the ankle and for putting me up for the night.”

Joe grunted and turned to the view screen.

Jim tipped his head down to rest on Joe’s shoulder. It was warm and he smelled nice. Jim was asleep in minutes.

Joe turned to look more closely at his sleeping partner. He was as beautiful in sleep as he was awake. Joe itched to run his fingers through the sunshine in Jim’s hair. He settled instead for pulling the edge of the blanket over his legs and resting his cheek on Jim’s head. He had made the right decision bringing Jim home. He yawned, then slept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always wondered what Dredd was like at home. Did he read books or watch movies or simply sit in his quiet apartment? I imagine his home is only place he takes an easy breath. It’s safe and secure and he has no one else around him to answer to, well until now.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There has been another Doctor Heart murder in Mega-City One. Judge Kirk and Judge Dredd are still working out the kinks in their professional relationship.

Joe snapped awake when he felt the warm, soft body next to him shift away. He kept still hoping that Jim hadn’t felt his body jerk in response to Jim leaving his side. He watched Jim move through the small living room with one eyeball opened a tiny crack. Jim grabbed the pillow his foot had been propped up on and put it back on the chair and he headed into the kitchen. Joe heard him shifting around and a moment later could smell coffee brewing. Jim padded past him again on his way into the bathroom.

Dredd sat up and stretched his muscles. His back was sore from a night spent sitting up on the couch. He had woken up a few times in the night as he felt Jim shift closer to him in his sleep. He had stayed awake listening to his new partner sleep. Jim sighed a couple of times and actually let out a breathy moan when Joe had carded his fingers through Jim’s silky hair. It was as soft as he feared it would be. Joe told himself, several times in fact, he should get up and find his own bed, but something kept him on that couch settled in close with Jim. Joe stood up and was involved in a full body stretch when Jim walked out of the bathroom dressed for work.

“You’re up.” Jim felt like an idiot for stating the obvious. He remembered falling asleep with his head against Joe’s shoulder. What he hadn’t expected was that Joe would still be there when he woke up. Jim wasn’t sure how to feel about that and figured he’d use Joe’s reaction to him as a way to gauge his own feelings on the matter.

Joe grunted and headed into the kitchen for the coffee he could smell brewing.

_Oh good_ , Jim thought, _status quo_. He walked into the kitchen to join Joe in a cup of coffee.

 

The call came over the com at half past ten; there had been another Doctor Heart murder. Jim felt frustration wash over him. It was the same old feeling from Philly. Wanting so badly to find a lead, something, anything to crack this case and get this lunatic off the streets of Mega-City One and ending the day with more questions than answers. Jim knew it would be a battle to keep his emotions hidden from Dredd. He found himself envying his partner his ability to keep his face blank and his emotions in check.

Dredd could see Jim was struggling. They had surveyed the body of the latest victim together. Dr. Fitzgibbon, the medical examiner for district thirteen was able to confirm this was the work of Doctor Heart. Dredd had known that to be true the minute he saw the look of horror on the victim’s face. The face he was focused on at the moment however was his partner’s.  Jim had left his helmet back on his bike and now that he was able to see Jim’s eyes, he could read him like a book. It was disconcerting for Joe to realize this was true. They had only been working together for twenty-four hours and Joe was already able to gauge Jim’s mood by the look on his face.

Jim pushed himself back to his feet from the crouch he had been in as he and Dredd examined the body. Dr. Fitzgibbon estimated the latest victim had been dead for about three hours. “You think he’s here somewhere, Dredd?” Jim asked as he swung his head around to survey the alley in which the body had been found.

“No, I don’t.” Joe muttered as he looked up and around at the mega blocks surrounding them. “He’s not here physically, but has access to the-”

“To the roof.” Jim pointed up and Joe followed his line of sight. Jim knew Dredd was about to say Doctor Heart had access to the cameras that were pointing downward at the alley. If he had access to the cameras, he had access to the sound feed as well and Jim couldn’t risk the killer hearing Joe’s theory about the cameras.

Joe didn’t like being interrupted. Kirk had a habit of doing that and it was pissing him off. He was about to say something to that effect to his partner until Jim had pointed up, seemingly to the roof of the towering megablock, but in truth pointing to the cameras above their heads. Joe knew instantly what Jim’s game was, they were both thinking cameras and Joe was about to give the game away by saying that word out loud. Jim had just saved the one lead they had in this fucked up case.

“Got us an eyewitness.” Judge Giant said, dragging a dirty old man in his wake. “Name’s Bud Farnum and he says he was digging though the trash when he heard the struggle between the killer and our victim.”

“Bring him to the cubes, we’ll finish walking the scene and will be back to interrogate him shortly.” Jim said.

Giant nodded and walked away dragging the old man behind him.

 

“You know he didn’t witness a struggle.” Dredd said as they watched the old man through the one-way glass.

Jim continued to silently stare at their witness.

“The victims are already dead and mutilated when he brings them to the dump site. There is never any trace of blood or of the missing heart at any of the crime scenes I have visited here or read about in New Philly.”

Jim knew Dredd was right. He had read the crime scene reports from all of Doctor Heart’s victims. He knew what Dredd was saying was the truth, but was hoping against hope this vagrant had seen something that could help them.

 

An hour later, Jim had to admit Dredd had been right about Farnum. He didn’t know anything, hadn’t seen anything and had probably only stumbled into that alley just before the Judges had shown up at the crime scene.

“Why did you lie to the Judges, Bud? You know giving false information to a Judge can mean up to six months in the cubes.”

“Better’n six months on the streets, Judge Kirk. Means six months’a hot meals, don’t it?”

“That’s why we’re here, wasting our time with you, because you think you deserve six months worth of free meals on the City? You’re taking our valuable time and resources away from a murder case so that you’re belly can be filled thanks to the tax dollars I risk my life to pay back to this City?” Dredd’s voice got quieter with every word he spoke, his last words were practically whispered.

Jim didn’t know much about his new partner, but he could see the man was about to go nuclear right in front of his eyes. “Give me a minute alone with him, Dredd?”

Dredd grunted and left the interrogation room, grateful to be away from Farnum. He smelled bad and wore a look of desperation in his too-old eyes.

“We’ll set you up with a hot meal, Bud, but you need to tell me what you saw back in that alley.”

“Didn’t see nothin’, jus’ wanted six months off the streets for lyin’ to ya like the other Judge said.”

Jim reached into his pocket and pulled out some credit chips. He stacked them on the table and walked out of the room to join his partner at the glass.

Dredd watched with growing horror as Jim pulled money out of his pocket and gave it to Farnum. He couldn’t believe Jim was giving that bum his hard earned money. Money, Dredd figured, that would go to his next high or his next drink rather than to a hot meal.

“Are you outta your fuckin’ mind?” Joe exploded as Jim joined him.

He knew this blowup was coming, it was just a matter of how far Dredd took it, would he yell himself hoarse or would he take a swing? Jim was ready for either eventuality.  Jim stared back at Dredd, his face impassive.

“Well, are you?”

Jim grunted and walked away. It was childish to take a page out of the Judge Dredd Communication Manual, but  he figured he had nothing left to lose, because obviously any respect Dredd had for Jim was now gone.

Joe hated to admit it, but the kid had balls for walking away from him when he was in this kind of mood. It wasn’t going to save him from a tongue lashing, but the kid had guts, that was for sure. Joe took off after his partner.

Jim was standing at the top of the grand staircase, staring out the window at the training fields below. A class of six year olds were studying an old version of karate. They were all moving as one, their movements in perfect sync with each other. That was one of the Academy of Law’s main tenants; always together. If everyone was trained the same way, everyone should, in theory react and respond in the same way. This was something drummed into students from day one. Jim had accepted that as part of his education, but he didn’t agree. Everyone performing and reacting in the same manner was dangerous; it made them predictable and weak. No one had ever listened to Jim or his theories and his big mouth had gotten him on the verge of being kicked out of the Academy on more than one occasion. He could tell Joe Dredd was a “company man” so to speak.  He would follow the letter of the law until it killed him.

Jim was pulled from his reverie, literally by Joe grabbing his elbow and spinning him around to face him.

“What the fuck were you thinking, Jim?”

“Guess I was thinking that being a decent human being was the right thing to do.”

Joe gave him an incredulous look.

“What, should we have given him what he wanted? Six months in the cubes, courtesy of taxpayer funds? So I gave the guy enough money for a hot meal, big deal.” Jim yelled back.

  “You know what happens to do-gooders, Jim? Huh? They die in a hail of gunfire, taking down anyone else who happens to be in the way. They’re always in the wrong place at the wrong time and it’s up to others to risk their own lives to save yours.”

“So that’s what this is about, you think my bleeding heart is going to get you killed?”

“What the fuck else would this be about? The most important things to me are keeping the citizens of this city safe and surviving until the end of this shift. Nothing else matters to me, nothing.”

“Sorry you feel that way, Joe.” Jim meant it. He had thought they had a real chance to be partners, to work together to solve this damn case. He didn’t see how that was possible with them not agreeing on anything and barely able to stand the sight of each other.

Dredd grunted at him.

“Looks like your wish came true, it’s past five and we’re off the clock.”

Joe could hear the fatigue in Jim’s voice, knew how much pressure he had put on himself to solve this case. He needed a hot meal and a good night sleep and why the hell that was any concern of Joe’s was blowing his mind. He couldn’t understand why he felt such a burning need to take care of this kid.

“You know a good place to stay? Didn’t have time to settle those details.” Jim said, repeating the words he’d said to Joe only yesterday. Fuck, was it really only yesterday? It felt like years had passed.

 

Joe felt his lips quirk in a slight smile at Jim’s familiar words. “Yeah Kirk, gotta spare bedroom. It’s yours for the night if you’re quiet and if you cook again.” Joe couldn’t resist adding that last bit. Jim was infuriating as a partner, but the man could cook.

Jim nodded.

Joe reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a key ring with several keys on it. He handed it to Jim. “They’re all labeled.”

“Thanks, Dredd.” Joe nodded and strode away leaving Jim to stare after him. How could it be that Joe had just been yelling at Jim about being a do-gooder and there Joe was himself handing Jim the keys to his apartment? Jim shook his head in frustration, fearing he would never understand what made Joe Dredd tick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder if this was the first time Joe Dredd ever spent the night with someone? I don't imagine Joe to be an untried virgin by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't think he's much for afterglow either. I imagine he's putting his pants back on while you're still breathing heavy! 
> 
> It's not my intention for Jim's sunny personality to change Joe at all or vice versa, but maybe each man will be willing, at some point, to see things from the other's point of view. 
> 
> What do you think of our "Odd Couple" so far?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim makes dinner and Joe makes a move.

Dredd’s Lawmaster was gone from the parking lot when Jim walked outside. He had no idea where Dredd had gone and he didn’t much care at the moment. The only things he could think of were food and sleep. Jim hopped onto his bike and followed the GPS directions to the nearest grocery store.

Jim moved through the store quickly gathering what he needed for dinner; steaks, potatoes and fresh green beans. He grabbed some bagels and cream cheese and another bag of coffee since Dredd was almost out. As an afterthought he made a detour and grabbed a twelve pack of the kind of beer Joe liked and hit frozen food aisle for some ice cream. Jim checked out and headed back for the apartment.

He was surprised not to see Joe’s bike in its assigned spot, but didn’t have time to worry about his partner’s whereabouts. He’d come home when he was hungry, at least Jim figured he would.

Jim was seasoning the steaks when he heard Joe’s key in the door. The door slammed shut followed by the hurried sound of the three bolts slamming home. Jim jumped a bit when he heard Dredd’s helmet slam down on the hall table and was quickly followed by the sound of his heavy boots hitting the floor as Joe took them off. Jim could tell he was pissed; at him or at something that happened during the time they were apart, Jim didn’t know, but had a feeling he was about to find out.

Dredd strode into the kitchen and slammed Jim hard against the refrigerator. Jim could hear bottles rattle together from inside. Dredd’s look was angry and alive.

“Hi honey, welcome home.” Jim smirked.

“Shut.The.Fuck.Up.Sunshine.” Dredd growled.

Jim could see the muscle in his jaw tick and his eyes were two cold, glittering emeralds. Jim felt the heat coming off Joe’s body as they were close enough to kiss. Jim unconsciously licked out at his lips.

“Don’t ever do that again, Jim.”

“Do what, Dredd?  Use your words.” Jim was smiling again.

Joe shoved him again, this time leaving his hands on Jim’s shoulders, his thumbs close to the pulse points in Jim’s neck. “Always with a smart comeback. Someone needs to shut your mouth for you, Sunshine.”

“Go for it Dredd if you think you’re man enough.” Jim sneered at him, knowing he would back off at any moment. There was no way his hard as nails partner was going to kiss another man.

Joe shoved him again, barely registering the sound of the clinking bottles.

Jim was getting ready to push back at his pissed off partner when the next thing he knew, Dredd’s lips were smashing against his own, quickly followed by Joe’s insistent tongue running the seam of Jim’s lips demanding entrance.

Jim refused to part his lips for Joe. Dredd grabbed the side of his face in his rough hands and put pressure on Jim’s jaw with his thumbs. Jim moaned against Joe’s lips and opened his own.

Joe swept his tongue inside, licking out at the roof of Jim’s mouth and finally mating with his tongue. Joe pushed closer to Jim and he could feel Dredd’s hard cock digging into his hip.

Jim’s lust sodden brain finally kicked back into gear and he shoved Dredd away from him. Dredd made to come back for him when Jim swung out with a right hook that snapped Joe’s head back and stopped his forward progress.

Joe touched the side of his mouth and his fingers came away bloody. He laughed. “’Bout fuckin’ time something made you fight for yourself.”

“Fuck you, Joe.” Jim panted, pissed beyond belief that he let himself be baited like that. He actually thought Joe wanted to kiss him. _What a fucking tool_ , he said to himself.

“Smells good.” Dredd said, angling his head toward the oven where the potatoes were baking. He turned and headed toward the bathroom.

 

Dinner was a silent affair. Jim kept his thoughts and his eyes on his plate. The meal was delicious if Jim did say so himself and he did. He thought back to the look in Joe’s eyes when they kissed, some of their earlier hardness was gone and Jim thought he had seen desire. He needed to stop this now before it got too out of control. He couldn’t fall in love with another partner. He’d not survive that a second time.

Dredd sat a second beer bottle in front of Jim and the clink it made startled Jim out of his own head. His eyes snapped up and landed on Joe as he set down his own beer and sat back down at the table. Jim noticed his plate was clean.

It was hard for Joe to keep his eyes off Jim. He had intended his kiss to be a wake-up call for Jim, but now he couldn’t get the feel and taste of Jim off his mind. Jim was a kind and sensitive man, antiquated traits from a world that no longer existed. It wasn’t possible to survive Mega-City One unless you were hard and always prepared for the worst. Jim needed to learn to be hard or he simply wouldn’t survive. Joe refused to think on the fact that Jim had made it through life just fine until now with his sunny disposition and why was it so dammed important to Joe that he be the one to take that sunshine away from Jim?

The man in question stood up with his still mostly full plate. His eyes were downcast and his movements slow. Joe felt his heart squeeze in his chest knowing he had done this to Jim. “Hey, you done with that?”

Dredd’s voice startled Jim, who just nodded.

“Leave it.” Joe commanded wincing at the harshness of his own voice.

Jim set the plate down near Joe and walked off in the direction of the spare bedroom.

Joe hadn’t much liked the positive, happy disposition of his new partner. But this Jim, the sullen, quiet Jim was worse, much worse. Joe hated himself in that moment for turning his little ball of sunshine into a shadow of himself.

 

Jim was tucked into bed reading his old worn copy of _A Tale of Two Cities_. The book always calmed him. It was an old friend, there for him in times of trouble and boy was this ever a troubled time.

He could still feel Joe’s lips on his, hard and hot. Jim raised his fingers to his lips, reliving the moment in his mind. Jim could feel the way his stomach plummeted when Dredd forced his tongue into his mouth, it made his dick jump against his boxers. He had wanted to wrap his arms around Joe, but had kept his arms free to defend himself if needed, not quite trusting the gruff Judge. Jim had been kissed before by confused, angry men who had swung on him once the kiss ended. He never dreamed he would be the one with the mean right hook after a kiss.

A knock sounded at Jim’s door, startling him out of his thoughts. “It’s open.”

Dredd poked his head in the door. “Mind if I come in?”

Jim was amazed at Joe’s ability to speak in a complete sentence and with manners even. “Sure.” Jim’s response was cautious. Not knowing if Joe wanted to talk or take a shot at Jim, which was certainly in his right, Jim figured.

Dredd was carrying two bottles of water. He handed one to Jim and kept the other for himself. He sat on the side of the bed, facing Jim. That’s when Jim noticed the bruise on the side of his face.

Jim raised a hand to brush over the swollen, purple flesh. Joe flinched briefly, but held still. “Gotcha good, huh?”

“Nothin’ I didn’t deserve.” There was no malice or anger in Joe’s eyes.

Jim nodded. If he didn’t know better he would have thought Joe looked remorseful.

“Use your words, Jim.” Dredd grinned as he threw Jim’s words back at him.

Jim’s let his lips quirk slightly. He wondered if this was Dredd’s way of apologizing. “Yeah, you deserved it and more besides.” Jim challenged.

Joe nodded and swung himself around so he was leaning against the headboard on the empty side of the bed. It reminded him of the night before when Jim had fallen asleep against his shoulder. It had been nice. Joe had tried not to think about that too much today, but it was always there in the front of his mind.

‘I’m sorry’ wasn’t in his vocabulary. He tried the words on his tongue and didn’t like the way they felt. He didn’t much care for Jim’s sullen mood either. Rain cloud versus sunshine wasn’t what he wanted. He knew he was the cause of Jim’s mood. “City’ll chew you up and spit you out.” He mumbled instead.

“Oh and that’s what you were proving by kissing me, Dredd?”

Touché, score one for Jim. “I was angry.”

“Bullshit, Joe.  Yeah, you may have been angry, but that’s not why you kissed me. Use _your_ words and explain how that works out in your mind.”

Dammit, being angry was a good enough reason in his mind for kissing Jim. He didn’t want to look more closely at the real reason for his actions or why he needed to feel Jim respond to him. Joe grunted and got off the bed to pace around the room.

 _Got you on the run now_ , Jim thought. Once he had a chance to calm down, he had realized Joe must have wanted to kiss him otherwise why did he force Jim to deepen the kiss?  Jim knew there was a better reason behind Joe’s actions. He knew if he was quiet, Joe would have to speak or wear a hole in the carpet.

“You’re a good Judge.”

Jim nodded, not understanding where Joe was going with this but unwilling to derail his train of thought.

“You’re my partner.” He stated this as if it were the answer to everything. The look on his face was perplexed. He couldn’t understand why Jim wasn’t following his line of thought.

“You keep stating facts, Joe. Yeah, I’m a good Judge and you’re partner. What the fuck do those things have to do with the way you acted tonight?”

Joe stopped pacing and stared at Jim. His mouth hung open like a trout. He didn’t know what to say to explain things any more clearly to Jim. That was a lie, he thought. He did know what to say, but the thought of saying it made his stomach clench.

“Just go, Joe. What’s the point in staying if you can’t be honest with me? Just go.”

Joe stood rooted to the floor for a few more tortured beats of his heart before he walked out. The door clicked softly shut behind him.

He had no idea what Joe had been trying to tell him. What had Joe meant by saying Jim was his partner? What, was he worried he would have to break a new partner in if the streets of Mega-City One did in fact chew Jim up and spit him out? Was that Joe’s way of trying to tell Jim he liked him as a partner?  He was too tired to try to figure out the cryptic clues left to him by Dredd. Jim cradled his book to his chest. And rubbed his fingers over his lips knowing today would be the only time Joe Dredd would ever kiss him.

 

[](http://postimage.org/)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you all think of Jim and Joe's first kiss? 
> 
> It is my personal headcanon that Joe Dredd is a man of few words. His actions make perfect sense to him but confuse Jim. Joe has no idea how to explain himself any more clearly than he already has, but maybe Jim should have cut him a little slack and given him a bit more time to figure out what he was trying to say. 
> 
> I love the idea of Joe trusting Jim enough to give him the keys to his apartment and love Jim making dinner for them. While Jim has more experience with relationships than Joe has, he is still a man used to living by himself. It's going to be fun to see how they deal with living together.
> 
> ***My amazing friend LopsidedWhiskeyGrin drew this incredible picture of Jim and Joe's first kiss. Please stop by her Tumblr page http://lopsided-whiskey-grin.tumblr.com/ and tell her how much you love her work!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the kiss.

Dredd couldn’t sleep. He had been tossing and turning most of the night. He was mentally kicking himself for not telling Jim what was really in his (gulp) heart. He had stood outside Jim’s bedroom door, not able to walk away. He raised his hand to knock several times, but his fist had always fallen back to his side before he finally walked into his own bedroom, not wanting to make a bigger fool of himself.

Jim had heard Dredd tossing and turning from his room. Joe was a pillow puncher and a loud sigher. It seemed like neither of them were going to get any sleep this night. Jim couldn’t get the feel of Joe’s lips out of his mind. They were hot and insistent, how the hell did Joe know just how he needed to be kissed? His cock stirred to life again in his pajama pants. He had already come twice and couldn’t believe it was ‘batter up’ yet again.

Joe heard movement in Jim’s bedroom, it sounded like Jim couldn’t sleep either. He punched his pillow again and rolled onto his stomach. It had been hours but he could still feel Jim’s lips on his own. He had felt Jim wanting to respond to his kiss, so why the hell had Jim been holding back? “Maybe because I kissed him like a friggen caveman.” Joe sighed and rolled back over. He needed to get out of bed, tossing and turning was doing him no good.

Once Jim’s cock was satisfied he noticed his stomach wouldn’t stop rumbling. He should have eaten more dinner, but remembered the strawberry ice cream in the freezer. Jim bounced out of bed and quietly made his way into the kitchen. He was licking a large spoonful of the sweet treat when he heard Dredd trudging through the living room. He was a mess, hair sticking up all over the place and his shoulders were slumped, from defeat of exhaustion, Jim couldn’t tell.

“Strawberry?” Jim offered him the carton and a spoon.

Joe almost declined but took the spoon from Jim. He moaned out load when the sweetness hit his tongue.

Jim smiled into the darkness as he watched Joe’s reaction. Jim got the feeling Joe wasn’t a man who indulged himself often.

“Tastes like summer.” He mumbled. “There’s not a lot of good left in this world, Jim and I don’t want to lose the little good I’ve found.” Where the fuck had _that_ come from?

Jim’s stomach plunged as he heard the meaning behind Joe’s words. He thought of Jim as something good in this harsh world they both fought against every day. He knew Joe had been angry at how he had treated the bum earlier today, but Jim had no idea it was concern for _him_ that inspired Joe’s anger. Jim knew his happy personality could be off-putting, but he didn’t know any other way to be. He refused to believe everyone in Mega-City One had to live in the shadows, lost in the dark.

It hadn’t been as hard as Joe thought. The words had come easier than he imagined they would, maybe it was exhaustion setting in. Maybe he was losing his mind. Not hearing a response from Jim, he dipped his spoon back into the ice cream. “Been years since I had ice cream. Strawberry is my favorite. Just figured I’d get used to having it and something would happen to take it away from me.” Joe trailed off at the end, sounding like a lunatic for comparing how he felt about Jim to ice cream.

Ice cream as a metaphor for personal relationships? Jim could roll with that. “You’re afraid I’ll melt, Joe?”

Dredd snorted, it sounded ridiculous to hear Jim say it like that, it was also true. He was afraid Jim would wither beneath the harshness of life in Mega-City One.  “Somethin’ like that, Jim.” He reached a tentative hand forward to land on Jim’s shoulder. He couldn’t make himself give more than that. He’d already said much more than intended and he was just about tapped out. Thankfully, Jim had no such problem and pulled Dredd into his arms. Their faces brushed together as Jim wound his arms around Joe’s hips.

Joe couldn’t remember the last time he had been hugged like this, maybe he never had been. The Academy of Law had taken him in as a five year old boy and no valuable class time was wasted on hugging things out. Joe grabbed for Jim’s broad shoulders and held on for dear life.

Jim was content to hold on for as long as Joe needed him. He could tell the gruff Judge wasn’t used to physical contact of a gentle kind. Dredd’s world consisted of violent altercations with criminals, there was no room for softer, kinder touches. Joe’s messy hair was soft against his face. Jim breathed deeply catching Joe’s scent. His arms tightened around Joe as Jim began to stroke his lower back. “You sleep at all, Joe?” Jim felt him shake his head ‘no’ against the side of his neck. “Let’s go.” Jim broke their hug and pulled on his hand.

Dredd allowed Jim to drag him to the couch and obediently sat down when Jim pushed against his shoulders. Jim grabbed the blue blanket and sat next to Joe, wrapping it around them both. Jim was about to rest his head on Joe’s shoulder when Joe moved his arm up, making room for Jim to move closer. Jim wasted no time scooting himself nearer to his partner, resting his head on Joe’s chest. He could feel the heat of his skin warming his face and could hear the slow, steady beat of Joe’s heart under his ear. Jim shivered when Joe brought his arm to wrap around Jim, his hand settling on Jim’s hip. “Sleep well, Joe.” Jim whispered into his skin.

Joe grunted. Jim deserved more than that. “You too, Sunshine.”

Jim laughed. “You named me Joe, guess that means you’ve gotta keep me.” He burrowed closer to Joe, his right hand pressed against Joe’s heart.

“Stay with me, Jim.” Joe hadn’t meant to just blurt it out, but somehow his chest didn’t feel quite as tight as it had before. Joe hated to admit it, but he had been scared Jim would leave after the way he kissed him.

Jim tilted his head to look up at Joe. He wasn’t entirely sure he’d heard right. Joe’s voice had been a near whisper and Jim was still afraid Joe would kick him out after his the way he’d punched Joe earlier. Jim reached for Joe’s face, brushing his fingers against the bruise he carried. He knew it was a risk, but Jim replaced his fingers with his lips. He gently kissed along the swollen flesh of Dredd’s jaw, feeling Joe’s sharp intake of breath at the contact. Jim raised his hand to the other side of Dredd’s face and let his fingers slowly dance over his stubble-roughened skin.

Joe moaned when Jim’s soft lips kissed across his chin. He had an overwhelming urge push Jim onto his back and plunder his mouth. At the last moment his inner voice stopped him. Everything in his life was fast and rough, what would it hurt for him to relax into this moment and see where Jim took him?

He let Jim kiss him, rubbing his hand over Jim’s side and back, thrilling at the small gasps and moans that elicited from Jim. Joe hissed when Jim messily licked across his chin and he involuntarily moved his head to the side in hopes of capturing Jim’s lips with his own. He had to stop himself yet again from being the aggressor in this situation. After the way he had behaved earlier, Jim had to come to him.

Joe tasted like sin, even in a world that no longer had time for such foolishness, he tasted forbidden, dangerous even. Jim needed more. He licked his tongue over Joe’s parted lips and tasted strawberries. He giggled against Joe’s hard lips.

“Somethin’ funny, Sunshine?” Joe turned himself so he was facing Jim on the couch. His fingers itched to reach out and touch Jim’s skin. Temptation proved too great and he roughly grabbed Jim’s neck with his right hand. Jim tensed beneath his touch and Joe instantly knew his mistake. He backed off the pressure in his hand and began to delicately rub against Jim’s pulse point. He could feel Jim’s rapidly beating heart beneath his own flesh and hoped to fuck it was beating crazily from desire rather than fear.

“You taste like strawberries, Joe. So sweet and delicious.” Jim slipped his left leg behind Dredd and urged him closer with the back of his heel. Jim wrapped his other leg around his partner and smirked at him in the low light.

“Bet you taste like strawberries too.” Joe rasped out. His heart was beating the same frantic rhythm as Jim’s and Joe knew in that instant Jim was feeling desire, not fear. He felt the iron fist around his heart loosen a bit. He didn’t know what was going to happen next with Jim. What he did know was that he never wanted Jim to fear him.

“Wanna put that theory to the test?” Jim whispered as he leaned in to kiss Joe.  Jim’s hands rubbed through Joe’s soft, messy hair as their tongues met and danced in Jim’s mouth. He moaned low in his throat and clutched Joe tighter to him when his tongue brushed against the roof of his mouth.

Joe pushed forward against Jim, moving them down to the opposite end of the couch. Jim’s head was lying just below the armrest. Joe swung himself forward to lie on top of Jim as they continued to explore each other. He felt Jim buck beneath him when their sleep-pants clad erections brushed against each other.

Jim’s hands grabbed onto Joe’s hips trying to urge him to repeat the movement that brushed their cocks together. Jim was half out of his mind with need, but was with it enough to feel that Joe’s cock was an absolute monster. His own dick twitched in his pants as he imagined what Joe’s cock would feel like hitting the back of his throat.  When he realized he wasn’t able to move Joe where he wanted him to go, he settled for running his hands up and under Joe’s tee shirt. His skin was hot and scarred, just what Jim imagined he would encounter. He was lightly tracing every scar on Joe’s back, needing him to know he found them beautiful. Jim longed to run his tongue along every mark he found, but would settle for loving Joe with his fingers for now.

No one had ever touched him like this before. He expected Jim’s clever fingers to pull away in disgust when then encountered the marks on his body. He was surprised when Jim kept touching them, almost as if he was memorizing every inch of skin. It was too much for Joe, it was too intimate, too close, but he couldn’t pull himself away from the sweet velvet that was Jim’s mouth.

Jim’s hands were skimming higher up on Joe’s back as they urged Joe to come closer, wanting their bodies touching in as many places as possible. He felt Joe surrender to his wishes as he laid himself fully atop of Jim who wrapped himself around Joe like a starfish.

Jim broke their kiss and pulled Joe’s head down to lay beneath his chin. He was stroking one hand over Joe’s back still and the other one through his hair. He knew how tired his partner was and as good as it felt to kiss him, Jim knew Joe needed sleep more than sex.

Joe felt himself moving toward sleep. He wondered why Jim wasn’t insisting they explore their feelings or some other hippy-dippy bullshit. He tried to clear his mind of the talk to come and just focused on Jim’s hands soothing him. He cuddled closer to Jim, moving one hand to Jim’s face. What would it hurt to spend one night like this in the arms of his partner? Joe fell asleep before he could answer his own question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone who, judging by their screen name, likes to stir up trouble said last week that Joe didn't kiss Jim, but rather Joe assaulted Jim. To that I simply say no. 
> 
> Just let me say here and now, I will not allow my works to be a reason people fight with each other or me online. 
> 
> Anywhoooo! I loved seeing how rough this night was for our two stubborn boys. I especially love that Jim holds his line in the sand and waits for Joe to figure out how to say what he needs to say. It's obvious they are both attracted to each other, they both need to find a way to live with that attraction.
> 
> More Doctor Heart next week...


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's another body in the Doctor Heart case, which hits a little close to home for Judge Kirk.

Joe awoke with a start. He was lying across Jim’s chest, his left hand curled around Jim’s shoulder. He moved his head back to look up at Jim, who thankfully slept on. Joe slowly and carefully extricated himself from Jim’s sleepy embrace and headed to the bathroom. Had he looked back at Jim he would have seen sad, blue eyes staring after him.

Jim had woken up several minutes before Joe had. It had been so long since Jim had woken up with an armful of warm, sleeping man. He missed this, missed being this close to someone. He figured Joe would try to sneak away when he woke up, but being right didn’t make it hurt any less when Joe pulled away from him. Jim sighed and sat up. After he stretched his muscles, he went into the kitchen to start making coffee.

Joe was a dick. He knew getting up and leaving Jim the way he had was a cowardly, dick move.  He rubbed the heels of his hands against his eyes to try to wash away the memories of last night. Jim so warm and willing beneath his body, the way Jim moaned when their cocks glanced against each other, the way Jim had touched Joe’s body like he was memorizing his skin. Joe threw his hands away from his eyes and reached for the shampoo. He scrubbed hard against his scalp when he realized what he needed to do, no, what he had to do. Fuck, what he wanted to do.

“Morning, Dredd.” Jim called out when Joe walked into the kitchen, fresh from his shower. “You’re just in time for breakfast. I hope you’re in the mood for scrambled eggs.” Jim turned around to gauge Joe’s reaction to breakfast as Joe grabbed his face and kissed him. Jim kissed him back, moaning as the mint of Dredd’s toothpaste filled his senses.

Jim tasted like coffee and sugar. Joe didn’t want to break their kiss. On one hand, Jim had the sweetest mouth he had ever tasted on the other hand, breaking the kiss meant the inevitable “feelings” discussion would commence.  Dredd reluctantly pulled away and grabbed for one of the plates Jim had stacked next to the steaming pan of eggs.

Breakfast was a silent affair. Jim was content to watch Joe shovel eggs past those plush lips. He could see the tension coiled in Joe’s body and knew Joe was just waiting for him to start yammering on about what happened last night. “So, Joe, I’ve been thinking.” Jim said, willing himself not to smirk.

Joe’s face hardened as he looked up from his almost empty plate of eggs. His hazel eyes went hard as they met the clear blue of Jim’s. “Yeah.” Joe gritted out, holding his breath in anticipation of what was to come.

“Why don’t we call out for pizza tonight?” A smile broke across Jim’s face.

“Pizza?” Joe asked dumbly, his held breath exploding past his lip. Joe was not quite understanding what pizza had to do with them kissing each other until his lips had gone numb.

“Sure, it’s Friday and I thought pizza and beer would be good for dinner tonight. What do you think?”

Joe was confused. Jim didn’t want to talk about last night? He nodded as Jim got up from the table to bring his plate to sink. He could hear Jim whistling just before the bathroom door shut off his tune. He turned to stare at the closed bathroom door, a small laugh escaping his lips.  He knew one thing for certain, Jim Kirk was never predictable.

 

Jim was rinsing the shampoo from his hair and trying to ignore his aching cock, which had been hard and ready to go from the second Joe’s lips had landed on his own.  He knew Joe had been worried about the “relationship” talk, but truth be told, Jim didn’t know how to begin such a discussion. He shivered under the hot water as his mind cast back to the last time he had gotten involved with a partner. Was he strong enough to go through that again? Could he handle- A knock at the door startled him from his thoughts of the past. “Yeah.” He called out, poking his head outside the shower curtain.

“Got another Doctor Heart body.” Joe said grimly.

“Be right there.” Jim grabbed for the faucet tap and his towel. Deciding what to do about his surly partner would have to wait.

 

Thirty minutes later Jim and Joe pulled their Lawmasters up to the scene of the crime. Judge Giant walked solemnly to meet them. Joe didn’t like the look on the other Judge’s face, there was something wrong; more wrong than another woman’s life cut short but a maniacal killer. “Giant.” Joe nodded to him.

Giant cocked his head toward the body. “Creep left a note this time.”

“That’ll make it easier to find him. Run the note through the question documents lab and then we can nail this bastard.”

“We’ll get to that, in due time, but that’s not why I needed to talk to you.”

Joe looked up at Giant and could see the concern on his face. “What is it?”

“The note from Doctor Heart mentioned Judge Kirk by name, Dredd.” Giant said low, leaning in so only Dredd could hear him.

“What do you mean, it mentioned Kirk?” Joe felt his heart start to pound faster in his chest. What did the murderer have to do with Jim? More worrying, what did Jim have to do with the murderer? Had he managed to catch Doctor Heart’s attention somehow during his investigation of the case back in New Philly?

“I’ll show you both.” He motioned to Judge Kirk who was still standing by his Lawmaster, giving Dredd and Giant a chance to talk privately.

“Her name is Marcy Stark,” Giant said when Jim and Joe were gathered around the body. “Eighteen year old Caucasian female, MO is the same as the other cases. Vic was murdered somewhere else, her heart was removed and she was dumped here. There is no missing persons report filed on this victim and the last messages on her com are from yesterday, saying good morning to several girlfriends. There are messages from later on in the day from those same friends who were worried about not hearing from her.”

Jim was listening intently to what Giant was saying but was worried by the look on Dredd’s face. He was wearing his dammed helmet so Jim was unable to see what was going on in Dredd’s eyes, but the set of his jaw was grim. “What are you both keeping back from me?” Jim asked pointedly to the other two judges.

“There was a note found on the body, Jim.” Dredd said.

“Great, sounds like we’ve got our first solid lead at last. We’ll be able to trace the paper and the kind of machine used to print out the letter.” Jim looked enthusiastically at the other men, who both failed to return his enthusiasm. “What? What else are you both keeping from me?” Jim narrowed his eyes at Joe.

Judge Giant pulled a sealed plastic envelope out of his pack and handed it to Dredd. Joe scanned the contents of the letter briefly, feeling his heartbeat accelerate. His stomach felt queasy as he looked up at Jim.

Jim knew this was bad, the little he could see of Joe’s skin went deathly pale. He looked to Judge Giant who wore a blank look on his face. Jim turned back to Dredd. “Read it.” Jim commanded.

Joe took a deep breath and began to read, “Enjoying my little presents Judge Kirk?” Joe took an unsteady breath, not daring to look up at Jim’s face. “Perhaps you’d have a better chance of catching me with Judge Bane as your partner. Ooooh but that’s not possible, is it Kirk? No one would know better than YOU since YOU were the one who killed Judge Bane. Does your shiny new partner know about your cold, dead one, Judge Kirk? Hmmm? Well, he does now! Until next time! Beats me why I ever thought you a worthy opponent. Doctor Heart.”  

Joe looked up at Jim as he read the closing line of the letter. Jim face had gone pale and he looked unsteady on his feet. His eyes were glittering with unshed tears and his hands were balled into fists at his sides.

“Jim, who was Judge Bane?” Joe asked gently.

Jim looked up at Joe, blinking several times to keep his tears from falling. “He was my last partner.” Jim rasped out. “When I graduated from the Academy, I was assigned to ride along with Judge Bane during my probationary period. We made such a good team that we were kept together and promoted to detective when my six months were up.  We had the highest close rate in New Philly.” Jim grew silent and seemed to drift away in his thoughts.

Joe hated watching Jim struggle. Like it or not, the blue-eyed menace had wormed his way past Joe’s defenses and he couldn’t help wanting to fix this for Jim. In order to fix anything he needed to know the truth about what happened to Judge Bane. He also needed to figure out how what happened to the Judge figured in with Doctor Heart. Was Doctor Heart a relative of the slain Judge? A former lover? Someone this whack job fixated upon and was taking revenge for? Joe’s head was spinning with all the possibilities. “Jim, what happened to Judge Bane?”

The question startled Jim out of his thoughts. He looked at Dredd with sad, mournful eyes which he then fixed off in the distance. “Bane and I were working this domestic case. Father had killed his three children and his wife. Neighbors heard the disturbance and called it in.” Jim took a deep breath and rubbed his fisted hands against his eyes, trying to rub the scene away from his vision. “We were having lunch in the block next door and even though we were still on meal break, Evan, errr, Bane rather, radioed Control that we would take the case.” Jim barked out a harsh laugh. “I remember being so dammed pissed because I had only taken three bites of my cheeseburger.” Jim stopped, trying to find the right words, trying even harder to hold back the flood of emotions coursing through his entire body.

Dredd could see Jim fighting for control, whatever had happened at this scene must be hell for Jim to re-live. He knew Jim was soft-hearted but this seemed to him to go beyond simple care for his partner. It seemed, more, he guessed. Joe turned his attention back to Jim as the younger Judge managed to get himself back under control again.

 “We rode the elevator to the 98th floor and could hear screams and gunfire coming from down the hall. Control came back over the radio telling us there were multiple reports of gunfire in the halls and that the father was now shooting anyone who got in his way. He was also heard to be yelling about wanting people to leave him alone so he could get to the 110th floor observation deck.”

“He was planning to jump?” Giant asked.

Jim nodded. “Bane thought we would stand a better chance of getting this guy if we split up. He was going to stay where we were and wanted me to go in the opposite direction so we could corner him. I argued that staying together was the best way of finding and killing this creep, but Bane overruled me. I tried to change his mind one last time…” One lone tear floated down Jim’s cheek, he didn’t seem to notice it was even there.

Joe wanted to reach out and wipe the stray tear from Jim’s face. He wanted it so much that his right hand twitched with need. He balled his hand into a fist and slammed it into his thigh in frustration. Frustration at his need to comfort Jim but also in the inability to do so in front of Giant.

Jim shuddered as he remembered just how he had tried to change Bane, no, Evan’s mind one last time. He shook his head, as if to shake that thought loose from his mind. “I was running as hard as I could to get back to Bane and the crime scene when I heard Bane’s voice come over the com.” He was calling out the code for officer down. I ran back the way I had come to get back to my partner. When I got there, Bane was down on the floor of the hallway and there was another person lying nearby shot full of holes. I assumed it was the perp. I ran to Bane’s side and pulled him into my arms. I remember asking him who did this to him and he told me it was the creep, but he had gotten him, gotten him good, said there wouldn’t be the need for a cube…” Jim trailed off again. He batted angrily at the tears that were now freely falling from his eyes.

Giant cleared his throat and was blinking up at the harsh mid-morning sun. Dying in the line of duty was a harsh reality Judges lived with from day one of the Academy. Less than 20% of a graduating class would live to see retirement. Knowing this didn’t make Jim’s story any easier to bear. Giant had lost friends in this manner too.

“End it, Kirk.” Dredd ordered, his voice coming out harsher than he had intended.

“That is the end, Dredd. Bane took a few shaky breaths and died in my arms. The reconstruction team later determined that Hippey, and isn’t that name fucking ironic, was hopped up on some form of speed, which made users especially paranoid. He wiped out his entire family and started shooting anyone who crossed his path on his way to the observation deck. The team figured he came upon Bane’s location and shot him several times before Bane could get off a reasoning word or shot of his own. If we had stuck together, If I had been with-”

“Don’t.” Dredd cautioned. He knew nothing was worse than playing ‘what if.’ It served no practical purpose. It couldn’t change the outcome of what happened that day.

Jim stared at Dredd as he fought with himself inside his own head. Not a day went by that he didn’t berate himself for not insisting he and Bane stick together. Dredd accusing Jim yesterday, (Christ was it really just yesterday?) of how his playing the role of do-gooder was going to get him killed only served to make the telling of this story that much harder. Joe hadn’t known then that he had gotten his last partner killed. He knew now. Jim could see everything he had worked so hard to rebuild crumble before his very eyes. “Giant,” Jim asked. “Are you gonna be sticking around this scene for a while?”

“Yeah, Kirk, why?”

“Stay with Dredd, I gotta get out of here, this is too close for me, I-” Jim stopped talking and strode to his Lawmaster.

It was on the tip of Dredd’s tongue to tell Jim to wait for him. It wasn’t safe for Jim to be out alone in the City where a madman was obviously killing women to get Jim’s attention and make some sadistic point. In the end, he stayed silent and watched his partner walk away.

[](http://postimage.org/)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to thank ReadItHoney for working with me on the note from Doctor Heart. I read it out loud to her and then decided I needed to write it more phonetically, so you all could hear the sneering, superior tone my voice used. 
> 
> We're going to find out more about Bane and Jim over the next two weeks, stay tuned!
> 
> ***My amazing friend LopsidedWhiskeyGrin drew this incredible picture of Jim reading Doctor Heart's letter and remembering Judge Bane's death. Please stop by her Tumblr page http://lopsided-whiskey-grin.tumblr.com/ and tell her how much you love her work!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dredd researches Bane as he waits for Jim to come home. Things get hot and wet in the shower!

Jim had been gone for close to six hours. Joe had finished working the latest Doctor Heart crime scene until the body had been taken away by the meat wagon. He kept checking his com, but there had been no messages from Jim. He stopped just shy of calling Control to have them put a trace on Jim’s GPS. He would hold off on that until…well, he would hold off on that for now.

Joe was disappointed to see his parking space empty of Jim’s Lawmaster when he pulled into the underground garage. He angrily turned the locks of the apartment and slammed the door once he was safely inside. He thought slamming the door would make him feel better, but it only made him angrier when Jim wasn’t there to greet him with a smartass remark and a beer.  “Where the fuck are you, Sunshine?” He muttered to his empty kitchen.  Jim should be here, dammit, making his life miserable and suggesting they get mushrooms on their pizza. Of course the blue eyed menace would like fucking fungi on his pizza. “Yeah and he’d probably make some kind of stupid remark about what a ‘fun guy’ he was too.” Joe muttered as he took a long pull on his beer. _Come home soon, kid._

 

Joe thought he heard keys in the locks three times while he was in the shower. “Fucking wishful thinking.” Joe skulked into the kitchen, not knowing what to do with himself. “What the fucking fuck, Jim.” Joe yelled into his empty apartment. He had spent years relishing his alone time in this tiny, quiet space. How had Jim come to make him hate his own lonely shadow in such a short period of time?

Joe grabbed for his laptop, figuring to do something useful with his time. He had read Jim’s Judge file from cover to cover when they had been paired together, now would be a good time to read Judge Bane’s file too.  Dredd quickly keyed in his credentials and ran a search for Judge Evan Bane.  He wasn’t prepared for the face that stared back at him when the computer loaded his file. Bane was a monster at 6’6” tall, and 230 pounds of pure muscle. It made Dredd, at 6’1 and 200 pounds seem puny in comparison. Bane had dark brown hair and hazel eyes which tended to be more gold than green. Dredd couldn’t help but compare himself to Judge Bane, there was a resemblance, no doubt about it.  The similarity ended with Bane’s left eyebrow, which was split giving his face a sinister look even when he smiled. Dredd shivered, deciding Bane looked even more sinister when he smiled. 

“So, this was Jim’s lover.” He finally mumbled to the room, giving voice to the one sentence he was loathe to speak. They had only known each other for a short time, but Dredd could read Jim like a book. It was obvious that Bane had been more to Jim than a colleague, it had been written all over Jim’s face. Bane had been Jim’s lover.  Dredd felt a ball of fire ignite in his belly as his heart began to pound faster. He could never remember feeling this way. He stood and paced the small room, hoping the bit of physical activity would calm his body. It didn’t. He didn’t know how he knew, but the only thing that would settle him down was Jim.  “FUCK!” Joe yelled in frustration.

He slammed his body back down onto the sofa and pulled up Google, typing Jim’s name into the search bar. He was stunned by the number of articles the computer spit out at him. He scrolled past stories of Jim’s charitable events with local children’s groups and past stories of heroic rescues, stopping finally when a small headline caught his eye: _Judge Gunned Down In Franklin Block Massacre_. “This must be it.” Joe mumbled as he read the article. Most of it was propaganda and filler, but the bones of the story Jim had told were present in the article, as was a grainy picture of Bane lying dead in Jim’s arms. Even through the low quality of the picture, Dredd could see the grief on Jim’s face. Would Jim grieve like that for him if the worst were to happen to him? Dredd couldn’t help but wonder.  He was just deciding that Jim wouldn’t be half as upset if something were to happen to him when he heard the familiar sound of Jim’s keys in the locks. Dredd quickly shut down the article, feeling guilty for prying into Jim’s past, just as Jim slumped through the door.

Jim was a disaster. His hair was matted from sweat and his helmet, which hung limply from his left hand. His shoulders were slumped in defeat. “I’ll just get my things and leave.” He said quietly, moving toward the spare bedroom.

“Aren’t you always the one telling me to use my words, Sunshine?” Joe asked, meeting Jim in the middle of the room.

“Joe…”

Dredd closed the gap between them, taking Jim’s face in his hands. He moved Jim’s head around looking for signs of injury. Jim seemed to be intact. “Shower then dinner.” Joe said.

“Sounds like an order, Dredd.” Jim sneered.

Joe hated the look on Jim’s face. He seemed like he’d lost the one thing elemental to who Judge James T. Kirk was: hope. Jim looked hopeless and, if Joe was being honest with himself, helpless. He grabbed Jim’s hand and tugged him toward the bathroom. Thankfully Jim followed with no resistance.

Once inside the tiny room Joe unzipped Jim’s leather jacket and peeled it from his sweat soaked body. His sodden tank was next. Joe knelt to the floor and went for the button to Jim’s leather pants. Jim’s hand clamped around Joe’s stopping him from drawing the zipper down. “I’ll just get you killed too, Joe.” Jim whispered, his eyes glittering blue ice cubes.

Joe simply grunted and threw off the iron grip of Jim’s hand. He yanked Jim’s leathers down with a snap of his wrists, his navy boxer briefs came down with them, bobbing Jim’s impressive cock in Joe’s face. Dredd looked up at Jim, who quickly looked away, a deep red blush suffusing his neck and cheeks. “Ain’t nothing to be ashamed of, Sunshine, in a different time and place…” Joe trailed off, knowing that in a different time and place he would be sucking Jim’s impressive erection into his throat. He quickly tapped on Jim’s feet to divest him of the rest of his clothes. Joe stood quickly, bumping into Jim’s broad shoulders as he moved to turn the water on in the shower. “I’ll leave you to it.” Joe said when the water temperature met with his satisfaction. He turned to go, but Jim grabbed his wrist, pulling him back around.

“Don’t leave me.” Jim whispered.

Joe felt his heart slam hard against his ribs. He didn’t want to leave the bathroom, fuck, he didn’t want to ever leave Jim’s side. He knew Jim was vulnerable and reaching out, he was fucked if he knew what to do in this situation. His Lawmaker had nothing to offer on what to do when your emotionally compromised partner asked you to shower with him. Joe grabbed Jim’s face in his hands and smashed their lips together. Jim had looked so dead when he had walked into the apartment. All Joe wanted to do was make him feel alive again. He swept his tongue into Jim’s open mouth and both men groaned when their tongues met and dueled in Jim’s mouth. Joe ripped his hands from Jim’s face and went for his own tee shirt, pulling himself away from Jim’s lips long enough to rip the material over his head. It dropped into a heap behind him. He then shucked out of his soft, flannel sleep pants. Jim grabbed on to his hips and pulled him close again to kiss as Joe’s hand’s roamed Jim’s naked back. Jim was covered in marks and scars similar to his own. Joe took his time mapping all of the little imperfections of Jim’s skin. No, he thought, shaking his head almost violently and throwing his lips away from Jim’s, they weren’t imperfections, but rather chapters. They were chapters in the book of Jim, describing in vivid detail who his partner was at heart.

Joe ripped back the shower curtain and hauled Jim into his arms like a bride. He’d be fucked if he couldn’t haul Jim around like that Neanderthal Bane had most assuredly done. Joe growled possessively as he stepped into the shower, sheltering Jim from the hard spray of water with his body. “Turn and wrap your legs around me.” Joe commanded.

Jim moved to comply, swinging his legs down and then around Joe’s torso. Jim’s position lined their cocks up perfectly. Joe wrapped his fist around Jim’s girth and nudged at Jim’s downturned face with his shoulder.

“Joe, please.” Jim moaned.

“Look at me, dammit.” Dredd barked impatiently.

Jim’s crystalline blue eyes clashed with his own. He could see defeat and desire waging war in their depths.“You’re gonna use your words when we’re done here.”

Jim turned his eyes away from Joe’s.

“HEY!” Joe said, louder than he intended, startling both of them. “I didn’t tell you to look away, now did I?”

Jim shook his head no and met Joe’s intense stare once again.

“Don’t make me repeat myself again, Jim.” Dredd’s voice was hoarse, strained. He didn’t know how much longer his control would last. “We’re gonna talk and after tonight there will be no more secrets between us, understand?”

Jim reached out to Joe with both hands. One caressed the side of his heated face, while the other wrapped around his cock. “Understood.” Jim whispered and stroked his hand slowly up Dredd’s cock.

Joe responded by matching the motion and pressure of Jim’s hand on his dick. Joe pressed Jim more firmly into the shower wall, freeing his other hand to rub against Jim’s face. He ran his knuckles against the stubbled flesh of Jim’s cheek.  Joe gasped as Jim slid his hand down Joe’s weeping cock. “Jim.” Joe moaned, never taking his eyes off Jim’s.

Jim smiled at Joe all the way up to his eyes, which were now glowing turquoise, like in a picture Joe had once seen of the sky before the war, before the world had ended. He returned Jim’s smile, leaning in to kiss his smiling lips against Jim’s.

Jim was whispering Joe’s name against his lips. The pressure and speed of his hand on Joe’s cock was increasing as Jim held on tighter to the back of Joe’s neck with his free hand.

“That’s it, Jim, fuckin’ come, you fuckin’ come for me.” Joe panted. “Don’t close your eyes.” Joe pleaded. “Don’t you keep this from me.” He demanded, his breath shallow. He was approaching the end of his control, he longed to let go and let Jim’s clever hand wash him away. He needed to hold on long enough for Jim to find his own release first.

“Fuck Joe, please.” Jim said. “Gotta come with me, baby.”

Joe growled at the endearment. Jim started spurting over his hand. “MINE!” Joe whispered as he allowed his control to crumble. “MINE, MINE, MINE.” His whispers became more vehement as he pulsed against Jim’s tight fist.

Jim stroked Joe through the storm, breaking eye contact to watch as Joe erupted all over his hand. He watched mesmerized as the cooling water washed their combined release away. He watched as the water made him feel clean again. No, he mentally corrected himself, Joe had done that with his simple declaration of trust. He believed in Jim when Jim had lost faith in himself. It was enough. He would use his words, not because he had to, but because Joe wanted there to be no secrets. Jim hoped Dredd had some strength left for the tale he had to tell.

[](http://postimage.org/)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If the description of Judge Bane sounds familiar, it should! He is based on Khal Drogo himself, Jason Mamoa. It was a true Vulcan Mind Meld when NaughtyPastryChef and I both declared at the same moment that Jason was my Bane. Our minds, one and together.
> 
> Even the horror of nuclear war couldn’t end the existence of the mushroom. Mushrooms are the bane of my existence…see what I did there! You gotta think Jim is not only going to make “fun guy” jokes but he’s going to know interesting (totally boring and useless) facts about the mushroom!
> 
> I have some exciting news for all of you! If you go back through the various chapters of this story you will find three pieces of original art from my amazing friend lopsided-whiskey-grin. I cannot thank you enough for these amazing illustrations of this story! 
> 
> **The amazing lopsided-whiskey-grin has drawn a companion piece to go with this chapter. It's just amazing honey, thank you so much!! 
> 
> Please stop by her tumblr page and let her know what you think!!!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim tells the story about his relationship with Judge Bane.

Joe was right. Jim did want mushrooms on his pizza, nodding his head in agreement when Joe asked. Jim had been silent since their shower. Ordinarily Joe would be worried about Jim not talking but he knew Jim was getting his thoughts in order for the discussion to come. Jim was sitting on the couch in Joe’s spot staring off into space.  Joe clapped a hand on Jim’s shoulder as he seated himself on the couch close to his troubled partner, who responded with a weak smile. Joe could see the turmoil etched into Jim’s face.  Joe missed the brilliance of Jim’s million watt smile.

Jim rolled to his side and laid his head in Joe’s lap, wrapping a hand around Joe’s meaty thigh. “S’gonna be okay, Sunshine.” Joe murmured, stroking the spun gold of Jim’s hair. “Whatever it is, we’ll get through it together, I promise.”

Jim squeezed Joe’s thigh to indicate he understood. He could feel the heat of Joe’s skin burning into the side of his face. His thoughts were spinning so fast in his mind he actually felt dizzy. He focused instead on the warmth of Joe Dredd. Jim never could have imagined such warmth existed inside the man as well as on the outside. Dredd was good at keeping others away with his gruff demeanor, but it hadn’t taken Jim long to see right through to his heart.  A heart Jim hoped would be beating closer to his own by the end of the night and not further away. Joe had asked for there to be no secrets between them and Jim owed him that much. He still wished he didn’t have to tell Joe about Evan.

Joe was enjoying the quiet contact with Jim. He was rubbing one hand against Jim’s scalp and the other lay possessively over Jim’s hip. This conversation was for the best, he kept telling himself. If they were going to continue on together, Jim needed to know he could trust Joe with anything. Joe needed to know he was strong enough to accept anything Jim told him. He knew or rather he suspected the very worst in thinking that Jim and Bane had been lovers, but what if it was worse than that? Joe felt his stomach cramp when the doorbell buzzed signifying the arrival of dinner. Joe ducked his head to kiss the back of Jim’s neck.

Jim sat up, wiping tears from his eyes he hadn’t even realized he shed. He blinked a few times to rein in the unshed tears and got up from the couch.

Joe noticed a wet spot on his sleep pants where Jim’s tears had soaked into the soft flannel. Joe collected the pizza and paid the acne ravaged kid at the door. When he set the pizza on the table he saw that Jim had set out plates and lowball glasses. Jim walked back into the tiny kitchen returning a moment later with a full bottle of whiskey.

Jim filled his glass with three fingers and then reached for Joe’s glass, not bothering to wait for Joe’s approval as he poured out the same amount. Jim raised his glass in a silent toast to his partner and shot the amber liquid back, wincing as it burned its way down his throat.

Joe nodded at Jim and dished out slices of pizza before tipping his glass to Jim and throwing it back, smiling at the way the whiskey blazed a trail all the way to his churning gut.

Jim pushed his plate back after doing little more than toying with the pizza on his plate.  Joe had demolished his entire side of pepperoni and was trying to devise the best way to strategically remove all the mushrooms from one of Jim’s slices left in the box when he saw Jim push his plate away. He didn’t like that Jim had barely touched his food. This had been a rough day for his sensitive partner and was likely to get rougher still.

“Let’s get to it, kid. It’s eaten away at you long enough.” Joe said kindly. His mind was in turmoil not knowing what could possibly make Jim so antsy about Bane.

Jim stood up from the table and offered his hand to Joe.  He stood and took the offered hand, giving it a squeeze to bolster Jim’s flagging courage.  Jim tugged Joe away from the table and down the hall to the spare bedroom.

Joe didn’t know why Jim was leading them to the bedroom, but he was willing to be patient for Jim, who had hopped up onto the bed and was patting the empty space next to him. Joe sat back against the head board and pulled Jim into his arms.

Jim allowed Dredd to hold him. What could it hurt to enjoy a few more minutes of comfort from the gruff judge. Once he heard the story, Dredd would be the one asking Jim to pack his things and go.

Dredd could feel the tension coiled in Jim’s body. He carded a hand through Jim’s silky blond hair and waited for Jim to begin. Patience was never his strongest suit but he was putting on a clinic in patience today for Jim.

“Bane and I hated each other the moment we met.”

Joe huffed out a rough laugh, “That sounds familiar.”

Jim laughed nervously. “Nah, I didn’t hate _you_ , Joe.” He looked up at Dredd who leaned in to kiss his lips.

Joe allowed his lips to press against Jim’s sweetly. His rapidly rising cock urged Dredd to take the kiss deeper but he was content to let his lips play against Jim’s.

Jim pulled back. He knew if he didn’t he’d let Dredd carry him away and he’d never get this story out. “Like I said, we hated each other. Bane didn’t want to be saddled with a green kid fresh from the Academy and I didn’t want to be saddled with an asshole.” Jim smiled ruefully.

“So what changed?” Dredd asked gently. He wasn’t sure how to approach his own knowledge that Jim and Bane had been more than work colleagues. He hoped this was right way to go about it.

Jim looked stricken. Joe had figured out he and Bane had meant more to each other than typical partners.

“Hey,” Joe brushed his knuckles against Jim’s cheek. “No more secrets, right?”

Jim nodded, swallowing hard. “The first three months we barely tolerated each other. Bane was in the Chief Judge’s office twice a week at least complaining about me and asking for me to be reassigned to another partner. We had an office pool going as to what would happen first, Evan having an aneurism or me getting reassigned.” Jim looked away from Joe, trying to hide how good it felt to say his name out in the open.

“It’s okay to say his name, Jim.” Joe kissed his forehead and backed off so Jim could continue.

“For whatever reason, the Chief Judge kept us together.” Jim was smiling now remembering the awful looks Evan would have on his face when he would storm out of the Chief Judge’s office having failed once again to shed himself of Jim.

Joe felt like a lead weight was sitting in the pit of his stomach. He supposed this is what jealously felt like. He hated it, fucking hated it, but he didn’t know how to make it stop. He was jealous of a dead man, he supposed things couldn’t get much worse.

“One day,” Jim continued, “We were pinned down against a brick wall taking heavy fire. One of the gang members had managed to get behind us and was lining up a shot at Bane’s back.  I pulled him down and out of the line of fire and managed to pump two bullets into the perp before he hit me in the shoulder.” Jim rubbed absently against the spot where the bullet had struck.

Joe pulled back the neck of Jim’s tee to lick and suck at the puckered scar. Joe looked up at Jim whose eyes were swimming in unshed tears. He kissed Jim’s lips with his own kiss roughened lips. “Not going anywhere, Jim.”

Jim nodded and leaned his head back for a moment to compose himself. Joe kissing and licking his scar like that had made him feel wanted and more than that, accepted. It struck Jim that was exactly the way he had been trying to make Dredd feel last night when he was memorizing the marks and scars on his partner’s body. “Anyway,” Jim cleared his throat, “Bane took out the remaining gang members and was three shades of pissed off when he got back to where I was propped up against the brick wall. He was shouting at me that I was reckless and stupid and what the fuck was I thinking and before I knew it, I was off the ground and held up against the wall in his arms.” Jim trailed off.

Joe’s stomach couldn’t possibly fall any further. He knew what was coming, what inevitably happened next. He was fucking jealous of a Herculean, dead man, he mused. His feelings weren’t what was important here, Dredd thought with a stab of guilt to his heart. Jim and his feelings were more important to Joe than his own and Jim’s feelings were the ones that mattered in this moment. Jim needed to know he could tell Joe anything and their relationship would still be okay. Relationship? Joe’s alarmed brain screamed at the gruff Judge. Relationship. Joe nodded to himself and squeezed Jim’s shoulder. “Finish it, Jim.” Joe urged.

“He kissed me, Joe. Slammed his lips against mine. He kept pulling away to tell me how stupid and foolish I was to take such risks. I-I…” Jim faltered, not wanting to continue. He wanted Joe’s lips against his own, wanted more whiskey and he wanted not to tell his lover about his past. “I fell in love.” Jim whispered, “The second his lips touched mine, I knew I loved him. Told him so, but he would never say it back to me. Even when he was lying in my arms dying, he still wouldn’t say it back to me.” Jim crumpled against Joe’s chest in tears.

Joe held on tight as Jim cried. He had never felt more conflicted in all of his thirty years. On the one hand, he wanted to kill Bane all over again for hurting Jim so badly. On the second hand, he was so jealous that Jim had been in love with this Neanderthal that he couldn’t see straight. On the third hand, he was standing in Bane’s shoes. How could he judge a man for a crime he was guilty of committing himself? How many times had “I love you” been on the tip of his tongue and he was too scared to say the words. He knew now was the worst possible moment, but he wanted will all of his heart to tell Jim how he felt. He shook himself slightly, once again reminding himself this was about Jim.

Jim pulled himself back together. “When he was dying in my arms, I told him how much I loved him. All he did was smile sadly at me. He died soon after.” Jim grew quiet and snuggled deeper into Joe’s chest, sleep pulling at him. He had so much more he wanted to say to Joe. Feelings he wanted to confess. “It’s so different with you, Joe.”

“Oh yeah?”

“I didn’t fall in love with you when you kissed me.”

“Oh no? My  inner caveman didn’t sweep you off your feet?”

“No Joe, was long before that. First…Night…Couch.” Jim whispered the last words as he slipped off to sleep.

Joe sat stunned for a few seconds after Jim fell asleep. Jim had just admitted he was in love with him. In.Love.With.Joe.Dredd. Joe smiled into Jim’s hair and felt the lead ball in the pit of his stomach disappear.  “I love you too, Sunshine.” Joe whispered to the sleeping form of his lover sprawled across his chest. A small giggle escaped his lips as he remembered a song from his childhood. He started to whisper-sing to Jim, “You are my Sunshine, my only Sunshine…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> None of us like telling the tales of our past loves, Jim is no exception. I love that Joe is giving Jim the support and encouragement he needs to tell the story on his terms without judging him.
> 
> Blame ReadItHoney for "You Are My Sunshine." She was convinced Dredd would know the words to this song...and what the hell, Jim was sleeping, right?
> 
> Have you gotten the mental of Jason Mamoa (Bane) and Chris Pine doing the nasty? I'm imagining fuck you up against the wall sex...to the point that the neighbors think it's an earthquake. Mercy!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joe wakes up alone after Jim's confession about his former lover and fears Jim has left him.

Joe woke up alone. He reached his arms out but all they found were cold, empty space. His heart was beating so hard, he could feel it in his toes. His eyes flew open, blinking rapidly to adjust to the low, early morning light filtering into the room. Jim was gone.

Joe, in full panic mode tried to get out of bed and fell to the floor in a heap as he was still tangled in the sheets. He kicked and pushed at the stubborn material from his awkward position and finally managed to pop back to his feet. He stumbled toward the door and ripped it open. “JIM!” He roared.

Jim, who was making pancakes in the kitchen, winced at the metallic echoes of Joe’s voice bouncing off the walls. “Mornin’ Joe.” Jim grinned.

_He was here, right here in the kitchen, safe, Jim was safe and here, he didn’t leave, he didn’t leave me._ His inner voice rambled on and on.  Joe thought his heart would explode. He bent double with his hands on his knees trying to catch a breath that didn’t make his lungs feel like they were lined with broken glass. It was a struggle to get his body back under control. He looked up to see the concerned expression on Jim’s face. Jim, his Jim was standing in the kitchen like he did every morning, making them breakfast. Fuck, Joe didn’t think his heart could take another scare like that any time soon.  “Woke up alone.” Joe panted, “Thought you’d left…” Joe drew a deep breath, “Thought you left me.”

“Figured I could make breakfast and surprise you back in bed before you woke up.”  Jim would never forget the shiver that had gone through his whole body when Joe screamed his name. He could feel the terror in Joe’s voice. He cursed himself for getting up and leaving Joe alone. He had woken warm and snuggled tight in Joe’s arms, his head lodged against Joe’s chest.  He had never felt more cherished in his life. In all the mornings he had woken with Evan, errrm, Bane rather, he had never woken up wrapped in his former lover. Most mornings he had woken cold with miles and miles of dark sheets and blankets separating him from Bane’s sleeping form.

Joe rushed forward and grabbed Jim’s face in his hands. His eyes were so endlessly blue. Joe noticed the light and hope, missing the day before, were back in Jim’s shining eyes. “Thought I lost you.” Joe whispered, the fear slowly leaving his green eyes. “Never been so fuckin’ scared in my life.”

“I’m right here, Joe, making pancakes.” Jim slid his hands to Joe’s hips. His hands were itching to reach under Joe’s sleep tee and rub against the sleep flushed skin, but he held off, waiting to see what Dredd would do next.  He didn’t have long to wait.

Joe pressed Jim backward until he bumped into the fridge, bottles once again clinking with the force of two large bodies colliding with the appliance. They met each other halfway, slamming lips, tongues and teeth together. Joe was licking and nipping at Jim’s lips when Jim reached out and caught Joe’s plush lower lip in his teeth. Joe growled with desire.

This kiss reminded Joe of the first time he had kissed Jim, in this exact location, but this time Jim was responding back enthusiastically and holding Joe tightly.  “Love you, Jim, love you so fuckin’ much.” Joe’s voice was hoarse with emotion. Joe’s hands shook as he fumbled for the hem of Jim’s tee. He rucked the shirt up, stopping at Jim’s neck, not wanting to stop kissing him long enough to rip the shirt off the rest of the way. Joe considered doing just that, wanting to rip Jim’s shirt off, when Joe felt Jim pushing back against Joe’s hips. Joe stepped back enough for Jim to reach up and pull his shirt off, sending it flying into the living room.

 Jim also figured this was a good time to get Joe’s shirt off as well before they got back to kissing and… Jim’s whole body broke out in goose bumps thinking about what the “and” was going to be.

Joe rushed back in to claim Jim’s lips once his own shirt was out of the way. Jim’s lips were soft beneath his own. Joe loved the way he could feel Jim’s lips curve into a smile between kisses. “Something funny, Sunshine?”  Joe asked against his lips.

“Joe,” Jim panted. “Say it again and again.” Jim pleaded before pressing their lips back together.

Joe growled when Jim’s tongue curled against the roof of his mouth. He pulled back far enough from Jim, ducking his head down and staring at the floor. “Love you.” He whispered shyly.

“Look at me, baby.” Jim urged, tilting Joe’s face up.

Joe reluctantly obeyed and was greeted with the most beautiful, watery smile he had ever seen. 

“Say it again.” Jim said simply.

Joe could barely hear the words Jim spoke over the pounding of his heart. He was embarrassed about sharing his feelings and wasn’t certain how Jim would take his words of love. This may be the hardest thing he had ever done, but he was going to do it for Jim. There was no way Jim was ever going to be able to compare him to Bane. He was going to be better than Bane. He would be a better lover, better friend and grud help him, a better communicator. If Jim wanted love sonnets, he was damned well going to write them. He stared into Jim’s eyes. “Love you, Jim.”

Jim stood watching the play of emotions as they washed over Dredd’s face. He saw embarrassment and determination fly past before an unsettled peace came over Joe. Jim hadn’t realized he had been holding his breath until Joe said he loved him. Jim felt a burn in his lungs and was quick to start breathing again. Jim would never forget this moment. He could never rightly say if Evan Bane had loved him or not. There were some days he would have said yes other days a definite no. There could never be any doubt now that Joe Dredd loved Jim Kirk. It wasn’t even the words so much as Joe’s willingness to say them. He knew how brave it was to say those words when you had no idea how the other person would respond. Jim wanted to shout his love from the rooftops, but was too choked with tears to do more than nod.

Joe pulled him close, holding Jim as he silently cried against Joe’s chest. He knew they were tears of joy, which he thought would have unsettled him, but now only made him smile. He rested his face against the top of Jim’s head and if a tear or two of his own leaked into Jim’s hair, no one would be the wiser.

Once Jim could breathe again, he lifted his face from Dredd’s chest and saw the way his green eyes were swimming in unshed tears. Jim could see the tiny tracks a stray tear or two had made on Joe’s face, but chose to keep that to himself, those would be his alone to treasure the next time Joe was driving him insane. The thought made Jim warm inside.

“Well,” Dredd demanded.

“Well what?” Jim knew _well what_. He knew Joe was waiting for Jim to confess his feelings. Jim was quick to wink when he saw Dredd’s shocked expression. “I love you too, Joe.”

“Grud damned right you do.” Joe grunted before swinging Jim into his arms and headed toward the bedroom.

“What’s up with carrying me?” Jim asked as he snuggled his face into Joe’s neck.

“Bane must have done this all the time, he was a big guy, yeah?”

Joe thinking about him and Bane broke Jim’s heart. He reached for Joe’s face, “Joe this is our time, Bane has no place here. It’s just you and me.” He kissed Joe’s lips lightly, “It’s just you and me.”

“Thank merciful fuck. You’re a heavy bastard.” Joe unceremoniously dropped Jim back to his feet.

Jim laughed as Joe fell to his knees in front of Jim. He pulled Jim’s sleep pants down as went and wrapped his meaty fist around Jim as he went to work with his mouth on Jim’s balls. Bolts of electricity shot through Jim’s body as Joe continued to lick and suck at him, his clever right fist slowly pumping up and down Jim’s length.

Joe growled when the salty flavor of Jim’s skin rolled across his rasping tongue. He sucked one of Jim’s balls into his mouth and lightly sucked on it until he felt Jim’s hands fist in his hair.

“Fuck, Joe, please. Need your mouth on me now, NOW.” Jim ordered.

Joe sat back on his knees. “You givin’ me orders, Judge Kirk.”

“Suck my cock, Judge Dredd.” Jim challenged.

Dredd raised an eyebrow, mischief lighting in his eyes. “Careful what you wish for, Sunshine.” Joe dipped his head down and rubbed over the tip of Jim’s cock with his closed lips. He ran them all around the head before gliding them down to the base of Jim’s shaft before sweeping them back to the tip again.

“Dammit, Dredd.” Jim ground out. He was trying to tug Joe closer by pulling on his dark, messy hair.

Dredd’s sharp green eyes collided with Jim’s. He plastered his large hands against Jim’s hips, pushing back until Jim bumped up against the wall. “Hands off, Kirk.” He ordered gruffly.

Jim’s cock jerked at the command. Jim reluctantly removed his hands from Joe’s hair and held them up.

“Palms flat against the wall.” Joe bit out. “Do.Not.Move.Understand?”

Jim nodded, spellbound by the authority dripping from Joe’s voice. He could feel his cock leaking pre-come and wanted more than anything to feel Joe’s lips wrapped around its length. Apparently, Dredd was in charge and Jim was just along for the ride.

Satisfied that Jim had obeyed his command, he focused again on Jim’s bobbing cock in front of his face. He could see the pearly stream of pre-come drooling down the head and pooling around the crown of Jim’s cock. Joe hid his grin, not wanting Jim to see his obvious delight at how turned on Jim was by being ordered around. Not able to resist any longer, Joe licked his tongue out, sweeping up Jim’s nectar on his tongue. The sticky treat was salty against his taste buds, it wasn’t enough to satisfy Joe, he needed more, needed an entire mouthful of Jim before he would be fully satisfied. He suckled lightly on just the head of Jim’s cock, swirling his tongue into the slit.

Jim cried out, as his body bucked against Joe’s face. His hands almost came loose from the wall Jim smacked his palms down hard making sure they didn’t lose contact with the surface of the wall.

Joe smiled around the cock in his mouth and started to bob his head up and down Jim’s length, licking and curling his tongue against the hot, hard skin as he moved.

“Joe, Joe, please.”  Jim wanted to move with his whole being. He wanted to sink a hand into Dredd’s hair while the other brushed against his face. He wanted to roll his hips forward, forcing Joe to swallow more of his length. He was edgy with need and trying to be patient long enough for Joe to make him come.

Joe could feel Jim’s hips tremble beneath his hands, he gripped the pale skin harder in his hands and continued to hold Jim against the wall. He knew Jim wanted to move, to touch him and fuck into his mouth, _maybe next time_ , Joe thought with a smile. Joe sucked a bit harder and increased the movements of his quickly tiring tongue against Jim’s meat. He could feel how close Jim was as his cock got a bit harder in his mouth and Jim’s started to whine. A few more swipes of his tongue and Jim was screaming out his name. Joe felt Jim’s cock pulse against his tongue seconds before his mouth was filling with Jim’s release. He moaned as the flavor of Jim coated his tongue, digging his fingertips deeper into Jim’s hips.

Jim saw stars when Joe’s tongue curled around his dick one last time. He felt himself lose control, felt Joe growl against him. He yelled Joe’s name, somehow remembering to keep his hands against the wall as he came in his lover’s mouth. When his cock finished jerking, he felt spent. He had never come like that in his life; so hard and with such intensity. Maybe that’s what happened when someone loved you?

Joe pushed back from Jim’s softening cock. He could see small bruises already starting to form on Jim’s pale hips and he couldn’t hold back a smile.

Joe’s smile took Jim’s breath away; it was filled with possession and promise. Jim shivered and felt his dick stir with interest again. Dredd wasn’t done with him, not by a long shot.

[](http://postimage.org/)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The artwork on this chapter is from my friend ScumbagBoots on Tumblr. Please stop by and tell him how much you LOVE his work! He draws a lot of Dredd artwork! You are amazing my friend. 
> 
> I love the mental picture of Joe being so desperate to find Jim that he ends up in a puddle of blankets on the floor.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim and Joe area spending some quality naked time together!

Jim was right, Joe wasn’t done with him. Joe pulled him away from the wall and frog marched Jim into his bedroom. Being a good roommate, Jim had never been in Joe’s bedroom before. It was done in shades of gray. There was no real color, no life in this room. Jim with his straw colored hair and brilliant blue eyes changed that in an instant.

Joe released Jim when they were both in the room and Joe’s hands went for the hem of his sleep pants. “Let me.” Jim said, brushing Joe’s hands aside.

Joe let Jim work his pants down his hips, watching the sexy look on Jim’s face as he lowered himself to his knees. He had never seen anything sexier in his life than Jim Kirk on his knees with those blue eyes shining at him.

Jim was smiling to hide his fear. Evan Bane had been a big man, tall and heavily muscled, unfortunately for Jim, that sense of proportion had been missing below the belt. In other words, Bane was a big guy with a little dick, hence the reason he was probably so bulked up to begin with, to compensate for his Napoleon dick.

Dredd on the other hand was wielding a monster cock. It was thick and veiny with a slight left bend to it, If Jim were a betting man he’d guess Dredd was pushing nine inches. As much as he wanted his mouth stuffed full of this piece of meat, he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to get much more than the head into his mouth. Jim steeled his courage and licked out at Joe’s cock. His pre-come was sweet, thanks to all the fruit Joe insisted on eating. Jim moaned as Joe’s hard velvet skin brushed against the roof of his mouth.

Joe had never felt anything like this in his life. Until now his sexual experiences had been rushed and harried. Dredd had been used to satisfying his needs in dirty bathrooms and seedy no-tell motels where he was half way out the door with his own release still drying on the head of his cock. This was different, this is what it felt like to be loved.

He knew he had a big cock. In the past, he delighted in torturing his temporary lovers with his weapon. Forcing them to gag and choke on his impressive length, loving the sounds of their tortured moans when he shoved his meat into their asses. He wouldn’t do that to his Jim. He would do this at Jim’s pace.  He felt his dick twitch in Jim’s sweet mouth when Jim moaned around him. “You like that, Jim?” Joe asked gruffly.

Jim’s blue eyes smiled up at him, his lips curving around the massive tool he was trying to work into his mouth. He was licking the underside of Joe’s cock as he slowly bobbed his head over as much of Joe as he could take without gagging.

“That fuckin’ sweet mouth, Jim.” Joe moaned as Jim’s lips and tongue continued to slide up and down his length.  Joe tilted his head back and closed his eyes to focus on the magic Jim was working on his dick.

Jim had wrapped a clever hand around his cock at the root and was stroking Joe to the same rhythm as his mouth.

“Good boy, Jim, such a good boy.” Dredd hummed from the back of his throat. He knew he needed to stop Jim soon or it would be some time before Joe would be able to feel himself surge into Jim’s tight body. Joe wrapped his hands around Jim’s head, sighing as his fingers stroked through Jim’s silky hair. “Gotta stop, Jim.”

Jim was so into what he was doing, that he missed what Joe said to him. He looked up with questioning eyes. Joe was pulling back from his mouth.

“Up on the bed, Jim.” Joe ordered.

Jim sighed as took Joe’s offered hand to get back to his feet. Joe had asked him to stop because he wasn’t doing it right.

Dredd saw the slight downturn in Jim’s shoulders as he moved toward the bed. His own shoulders slumped a bit when he saw Jim “assume the position” on his hands and knees in the middle of the bed. His head was hanging down toward the pillows, while his arms and legs were situated with military precision.  There was nothing remotely sexy about Jim’s position of subservience. In that instant Joe felt his body flashover in hatred for Evan Bane. Jim had loved him and Bane had treated him like a piece of fuckmeat, the way Joe had treated his former lovers. That ended now.

Joe climbed up on the bed beside Jim, gently maneuvering the other man onto his right side so they were now facing each other. “What was that all about, Jim?”

“Didn’t you want to fuck me?” Jim was confused, what was going on here? Did he not present himself properly for Joe? Was Joe disappointed in him?

“No, Jim. I wanted to love you, but not in that way.”

Jim sagged in relief. “Bane wanted-”

“Yeah, I know what Bane wanted. What I want is different, Jim.” Joe reached out and kissed Jim’s lips, brushing them lightly together as he rolled Jim onto his back. Dredd’s tongue snaked out to tangle with Jim’s. Joe felt Jim sigh into his mouth. He fumbled for the drawer in the bedside table for the bottle of lube he had bought last week and had hidden. He didn’t know at the time if he would ever need it, but he was glad as fuck he had it now, otherwise he’d be sprinting to the kitchen for the olive oil.

Jim heard Dredd fumbling through his drawer and knew he could only be searching for one thing. As relieved as he was that Joe wasn’t going to fuck him in the manner of Bane, he was still scared of Joe’s size. “Ahh, J-Joe?” Jim whispered.

“Yeah, Jim.” Joe wasn’t paying full attention to Jim. He was instead fighting to get the plastic safety wrap off of the top of the bottle. A man could die before getting to the lube.

Jim reached up and took the bottle from his hands and quickly snapped the plastic off. He held the bottle away from Joe until his green eyes collided with Jim’s blue ones.

Joe saw his mistake at once. Jim looked terrified. Just one more thing to hate Evan Bane for, fuck you very much. “I’m gonna go slow, Jim. I promise not to hurt you. Promise me in return that you’ll tell me if you’re hurting.”

“Promise, Joe.” Jim said shyly. “It’s just that there’s a lot of you, ya know? I’m not used to…” Jim trailed off feeling his neck and cheeks redden.

“Are you telling me Bane was a member itty,bitty, teeney, weeney club?” Joe snickered when Jim nodded and burst into giggles. Joe quickly sobered, ghosting his hands down Jim’s face. “Let me take care of you, Jim, okay?

Jim nodded again. “I trust you, Joe.”

Joe slicked his fingers up with the now opened bottle of lube. He cleared his throat hoping that would clear away the stinging sensation in his eyes. All of Mega-City One trusted Judge Dredd, but only one man had ever trusted Joe.

Joe brushed a finger past Jim’s most sensitive skin. Jim jumped at the contact. Joe pulled his hand back and started rubbing Jim’s thighs. “Relax, Jim. I’ve got you.”

“Okay.” Jim nodded and took a deep breath.

Joe touched Jim again and this time Jim moaned his name instead of flinching. Joe gently eased a finger into Jim’s snug passage, crooking his finger at the right time, causing Jim to sing out his pleasure.  Joe pulled back enough to ease a second finger in with the first, scissoring Jim open and making him cry out for more. “Not yet, Jim.” Joe whispered as he leaned down to suck Jim’s cock into his mouth.

Soon a third finger joined the other two and Dredd knew he’d die if he didn’t get inside Jim now. “Ready?”

“Fuck, Joe, yeah, so ready.” Jim was panting, unable to catch his breath.

Joe took Jim’s left hand and pour some of the viscous lube onto Jim’s fingers. “Get me ready.” Joe bit out roughly.

Jim rolled the lube around his fingers which he then wrapped around Joe’s cock.

“Fuck, Jim, hurry, I need to be inside of you, fuckin’ hurry.”

Jim gave him a couple more leisurely strokes. “Now, Joe.” He urged.

Joe brushed their hands together as he took himself back in hand and guided himself to Jim’s entrance. Once he felt the head of his cock breaching Jim’s defenses, he took his hand off himself and reached for Jim’s hands, quickly pinning them over Jim’s head. Joe was eye to eye with Jim as he slowly pushed his massive cock into Jim’s welcoming body. “How’s that, Sunshine?” Joe kissed up the side of Jim’s neck.

“Never felt so full, like I’m whole, Joe.” Jim gasped as Joe bit the tender skin against his pulse point in response.

Joe was beyond words at this point. His body was telling him what it needed to do and Joe was fighting the urge to pound into Jim with every fiber of his being. He kept up a slow and steady slide into Jim. He could feel sweat running down his back. He rested his forehead against Jim’s when he felt himself bottom out. If one word could be used to describe Judge Joseph Dredd it would be control, something he was almost out of at the moment. “You okay, Jim?”

“You’re fucking enormous, Joe. Who knew you’d have a cock the size of your reputation?” Joe snorted in response and both men shared a laugh.

“I love you, Jim. Never forget that I love you.” His green eyes were serious as they bore into Jim’s soul.

“I love you too, Joe.”

Joe released Jim’s hands from his iron grip and wrapped his arms around Jim, who had reached up to cradle Joe’s face.

Joe began to move in a slow and steady rhythm, pulling almost all the way out before pushing back inside again. It was sweet torture.

Jim was starting to wriggle under Joe’s sweet onslaught. It wasn’t enough, he needed to feel the full fury of Joe’s passion. “Not a china doll.” Jim panted. “Fuck me, Joe, please.”

That did it, Jim saying the word “please” snapped what was left of his control. Joe pulled his cock back and started to relentlessly pound Jim’s hole. He could feel Jim’s dick drooling pre-come onto his stomach and loved the glide of that extra bit of lube.  He was gripping Jim’s shoulders so hard he was afraid they would be bruised later on. He didn’t care, the only thing on his mind right now was coming and taking Jim with him. He angled his hips slightly to the left and knew he’d hit pay dirt when Jim screamed for him. He kept aiming his thrusts at that one spot knowing it wouldn’t be long now.

“What is that, Joe?  Fuck, fuck, fuck.” He was tossing his sweaty head back and forth, gripping Joe’s face in his hands.

“Jim.” Joe whispered. “Come with me.” Joe groaned in his ear and snapped his hips harder. His vision started to grey out the closer he got. He hadn’t realized he was holding his breath.

“JoeJoeJoeJoe.” Jim was singing his name as his dick started to pulse between them.

Spurred on by Jim’s release, Joe yelled for his lover and emptied himself inside Jim’s body.

 

Later, as they lay tangled together, Joe remembered something Jim had said when he had walked into the apartment last night. “Why did you think telling me about your relationship with Bane would make me ask you to leave me, Jim.”

“He was my partner.”

“Yeah, and?”

“He was also my lover, Joe.” Jim didn’t understand why Joe couldn’t see where his line of thought was headed.

“Annnnd?”

“He’s dead, Joe.”

Dredd pulled Jim close, knowing what Jim was going to say next. Bane was dead and he was afraid that Dredd would be too if they stayed together. Joe wasn’t about to let Jim leave him over something so ridiculous, but on the same hand it wouldn’t hurt to be extra vigilant until Doctor Heart was in the cubes.

“I’m not dead, Jim. You’re staying.” Dredd fought to keep the panic out of his voice.

“I’m staying.”

[](http://postimg.org/image/5cdcs07m7/full/)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn’t resist sticking, “He’s dead, Joe,” into this story! 
> 
> I've been marathon writing this story this weekend and have just about finished it up. There will be eighteen chapters in total, so we still have a ways to go here.
> 
> Lopsided-Whiskey-Grin has sent me another incredible piece of art for this story! Thank you so much for loving Joe and Jim as much as I do!!!! This is amazing!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another woman has been murdered and the killer taunts Joe.

Jim and Joe had spent the remainder of the day making love. In between their bouts of passion, Jim kept them well fueled with pancakes. Joe even learned how to flip them with moderate success, meaning only two or three of them landed on the floor. It was harder for Joe to get the hang of flipping pancakes while Jim’s naked body was wrapped around him from the back, his hard cock brushing against Joe’s ass.

Joe could never remember being happier in his life. He enjoyed the way Jim smiled at him when they were cooking and the way Jim shouted his name as he climaxed. Buried deep beneath the smiles and breathy sighs, reality was waiting for them both. It was obvious to Joe that whoever this Doctor Heart was, he wanted something from Jim. Figuring out what that something was would bring them one step closer to identifying the killer. It had been on the tip of Joe’s tongue several times to ask Jim what he thought the killer wanted, but he swallowed his question in exchange for a few more hours in Jim’s arms.

It was Joe’s beeping com that shattered the mood early the next morning as the lovers lay sleeping together. “Dredd.” He barked, his mind already sharp despite how deeply he had been sleeping.

Jim stirred and sat up rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he watched Joe’s body grow more and more tense as the phone call went on. Jim didn’t have to be a Judge to interpret Joe’s grunts to mean another body had been discovered. He slipped his arms around Joe’s back, resting his head against Joe’s shoulder, needing a few more minutes of closeness before they faced the real world.

“Time to ride, Sunshine, there’s been another murder.” Joe pulled himself from Jim’s arms and climbed from their bed.  He slammed the closet door open for a clean uniform.

Jim slipped his arms around Joe once again from behind. “We’re gonna get this fucker, Joe. I can feel it.”

Joe simply nodded as he trudged toward the shower alone not sparing a backward glance or an invitation to Jim.

 

“Her name is Devine Tanner.” Judge Giant told them when they had arrived at the dump site of yet another murdered woman.  “And there’s another message with this body, same as the last one.”

“Taunting Judge Kirk again?” Joe asked with interest.

“No Dredd, you.” Giant pulled a tiny vid screen from his pocket and removed it from the evidence bag before handing it to Dredd. Jim stepped closer, angling to see screen as Joe made the video play. Images of Jim’s face played over the screen, some with him dressed as a civilian other’s taken at crime scenes. Dozens upon dozens of images flashed past as the video rolled. They were all candid imagines of Jim, shot without his notice. Dredd shivered when the realization hit him that Doctor Heart had been stalking Jim, not only on the job but off as well.

Jim was having a similar realization. He recognized some of the pictures as being from Philly but the ones that made his blood run cold were the ones from the more recent crime scenes here in New York. He knew Dredd had been cropped out of some of the images.

Both men startled when a tinny, mechanized voice spoke, “Enjoy your time with the black widow, Dredd.” The voice snarled. “It won’t be long before you find yourself tangled in a web you cannot escape alive.” Insane laughter filled the air between them. Jim wrapped his arms more tightly around himself to ward off the sudden chill he felt.

If Jim was the target, Dredd thought, he would be the bait. Dredd could feel anger and determination course through his veins. He was mentally kicking himself for not speaking with Jim sooner about his involvement with the killer. They needed to figure out quickly why Jim was being targeted. As much as it would hurt, Joe needed to turn off his own heart and focus on this case. He had let his personal feelings for Jim get in the way and his professional judgment had taken a back seat. “Giant,” Dredd barked, “Finish up with this scene, we’re going back to the Hall of Justice.”

“You got it, Dredd.” Giant said as he walked back to the body.

“Follow me.” Dredd ordered as he walked past Jim.

Jim obeyed but didn’t like the tone in Dredd’s voice. Gone was the laid back tone he had gotten used to over the last several days. Dredd was all business now, not hint of his previous warmth remained. Jim threw a leg over his Lawmaster and followed Dredd back to the Hall of Justice.

 

They walked silently though the building. Jim was lagging a few steps behind Dredd who was still wearing his helmet. Jim hated not being able to read the emotion in Joe’s eyes, which he knew was exactly the reason Dredd had chosen to keep the helmet on. This felt like war between the lovers and Jim wasn’t about to go down without a fight.  “Are you fucking kidding me, Dredd?” Jim asked incredulously as Dredd opened the door to one of the interrogation rooms and motioned Jim inside.

Dredd turned and stared at Jim, grateful Jim could not see the look in his eyes. Not only was Dredd serious, things were about to get a lot more serious if Jim couldn’t give him the answers he needed.

“We’re _partners_ , Dredd.” Jim whispered harshly. “Don’t you fucking dare treat me like some kind of suspect. I agree we need to talk about my possible connection with Doctor Heart, but a fucking interrogation room is NOT the place to have that conversation. If you think it _is_ the place for this kind of chat, then I want a lawyer and a different Judge asking the questions.” Jim’s voice trembled at his mention of a lawyer, he couldn’t help it. He was fighting hard to keep his emotions bottled up and was wishing like hell he had kept his own helmet on, although he supposed Dredd knew him well enough to read his body language. While Dredd, on the other hand was still as a stone, giving nothing away of how he felt or what he planned to do next.

Dredd watched Jim struggle. His heart was pinching in his chest as he watched Jim fight the tears and emotions Joe’s treatment of him were causing. Jim was right, this wasn’t the place for the conversation they needed to have, Joe needed Jim’s mind sharp as a tack, not bogged down with emotions and fears that Joe somehow suspected him of being involved with these murders, which he certainly did not. He was simply trying to regain his lost professionalism. He slammed the door to the interrogation room and motioned for Jim to follow him.

Joe walked into the nearby conference room and ushered Jim inside. He stepped out briefly to grab bottles of water for each of them.

While Dredd was gone, Jim slipped his heavy leather jacket from his body and worked to calm his frantic mind.  The message from Doctor Heart kept playing again and again in his mind. The killer was accusing Jim of being a black widow, but aside from Bane, no one had ever died in connection with him. Doctor Heart’s meaning struck him like a bolt of lightning; Dredd was next. Jim would be the reason Dredd would die. Jim stood and began pacing the small room.

Joe could see Jim frantically pacing when he rounded the corner, bottles in hand. “Opaque.” He called out as he touched the glass wall of the conference room, the glass immediately frosted over. Dredd set the bottles on the table and removed first his leather jacket, then his helmet. His hair was matted with sweat and his eyes look tired, old beyond their years. “We should have talked about your connection to Doctor Heart a long time ago, Jim.” Dredd began. “I blame myself for letting my feelings for you get in the way of my job. That ends now. We need to figure this case out before more women die.”

“So you’re breaking up with me for the sake of finding Doctor Heart, Dredd, is that it?” Jim was heartbroken as the words left his lips.

“Yeah, Jim, that’s it.” Dredd felt like his lungs were filled with broken glass as struggled to take his first breath in his new life without Jim.

“Fine. Where do we start?” Jim asked, reaching deep within himself, into his training to once again become the emotionless Judge he had been trained to be.

“It’s obvious Doctor Heart wants to use me as bait to lure you to him. I say we let him.”

Jim felt the panic rise up once more within him. The thought of Dredd in the clutches of Doctor Heart was a terrifying prospect. If the murderer wanted him, why didn’t he just come for Jim, why all the fucking games? Doctor Heart could have him as far as Jim was concerned though what use Jim would be now, he had no idea because when he was sliced open the killer would discover Jim’s heart was already gone. 

“I don’t like that idea.” Jim returned.

“Hey, I’m not Judge Dredd for nothing. I earned my reputation.”

“Undoubtedly.” Jim said, dryly. “You’re reputation won’t protect you from a bullet to the brain, Dredd.”

Jim had a point, but Dredd wasn’t about to say that out loud. “Why does this guy have a hard on for you?”

“Who the fuck knows? Maybe because I was the one who linked the earlier uncoordinated murders to Doctor Heart and he’s pissed that I ruined his public image.” This was a plausible theory as serial killers were big business in Mega-City One. Personal items and crime scene artifacts sold for big money and the more devious and sinister the crime, the more popular the murderer became. Most of these creeps were very self conscious of their image.

“You fuck this guy, Jim?” Dredd felt his blood run cold at the thought that this fuckin’ creep had his hands on Jim’s body.

“Fuck you, Dredd.” Jim felt tears course down his cheeks. “You fucking know Bane was my only lover b-before you.” Jim pushed back from the table and grabbed for his leather jacket. “This is getting us nowhere.” He took a deep breath to regain his composure. “I’m going for a ride and then will swing by your place to get my things.”

Dredd felt an icy iron fist squeeze his heart at the thought of Jim leaving him. It was his own fault. This is the way it had to be. In order to protect Jim, he had to let him go. “Feel free to stay in the apartment for as long as it takes for you to find another place to live.” Dredd said gently. He needed to get away from Jim now before tears started to fall from his eyes and he grabbed onto Jim begging his forgiveness and once again professing his love.

“No. I’ll be back later for my things.” Jim turned and walked away. Each step away from Joe was harder than the one before. He felt his breath hitch in his chest and he was determined to get away before he started blubbering over all he lost.

 

Jim drove aimlessly through the City, finally ending up at a liquor store just around the corner from Joe’s block. He parked his Lawmaster and took off his helmet. Jim initiated all proper protocols for leaving the bike parked and unattended.  Once in the store, he made a couple of quick selections and was searching for one last item when he felt a hand on his shoulder and another slap cloth across his face. Just before he lost consciousness his mind recognized the odor of chloroform and danced over one final thought; Joe. The picture of his face swam in front of Jim’s eyes and then he saw no more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did Dredd breaking up with Jim break your heart? It certainly broke mine. You know it's funny the way stories unfold sometimes. This was never in the original storyline. I had sketched this part of the story with ReadItHoney and she was surprised when I told her what Joe did. This is what Joe told me needed to happen, this is what he would do to protect Jim. But it sort of backfired on him at the end.
> 
> The big question now is, who has Jim?? 
> 
> More to come next week!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joe finds out Jim has been taken.

The apartment was empty and hollow without Jim. Dredd was standing in what had been Jim’s bedroom before they had started sharing a bed. His tattered copy of _A Tale Of Two Cities_ sat on the nightstand where Jim had last set it. Joe sat on the bed and picked up the old book. It had been years since Joe had last seen a paper book and didn’t understand Jim’s attachment to something so old, so used. He lifted the book to his nose, inhaling the scent as he had often seen Jim do, sometimes absentmindedly. All Joe could smell was mildew and age. As Joe was setting the book back in its place, something slipped from the back pages. Joe was terrified he’d somehow caused the book to lose a page. He bent to the floor to retrieve the page when he noticed it wasn’t a page that had come loose, but a photograph. The image was of Jim’s sleeping face. He flipped the snapshot over and the backing paper was blank. Who would have taken a picture of Jim in his sleep? Why did Jim have that picture now? Dredd sighed. He supposed after breaking up with Jim he no longer had the right to ask those questions.

He had made the right decision. Jim would be far safer if Judge Dredd, impartial, by the book lawman was on the case, rather than plain old Joe Dredd, concerned lover. Once this case was solved and the creep sent for recyc, he and Jim could continue what they had started, couldn’t they? Joe would apologize and tell Jim he had only been trying to protect him, which is why he felt it necessary to break up. But what if Jim was so angry at what Joe had done that he refused to even talk to Joe about reconciling? Joe took a shaky breath and absently rubbed at the ache in his chest. He needed to knock off feeling sorry for his broken heart and get to back to the task at hand of finding and destroying Doctor Heart.  The sooner that was done, the sooner he and Jim could be together.

One of Jim’s favorite tee shirts was lying in a wrinkled heap on the floor. Joe picked it up and breathed deeply. He could smell Jim’s spicy aftershave and that special scent that was all Jim. He could feel tears pricking at the back of his eyes. Dredd hadn’t cried since he was a small boy and he wasn’t about to start now. He had a plan of action and it was a good one. Joe left Jim’s room, Jim’s stolen tee clutched in his hand. For the first time in his life, Joseph Dredd was a criminal.

 

An hour later found Joe studying the crime scene photos and reports for all of the Old New York murders in the Doctor Heart case. He had wondered briefly if he should also look at the case files that Jim had worked in New Philly. His mind tripping over Jim’s name made his heart stutter in his chest. Joe looked up at the clock and saw that it was 7pm. Where was Jim? Why hadn’t he come home yet? “He hasn’t come _home_ because you’re the stupid motherfucker who told him you didn’t want him anymore.” Joe grumbled out loud to the empty kitchen. He knew he should eat something, but it didn’t seem the same without Jim manning the stove and making bad jokes.

Joe had never been a man to be ruled by his emotions. Every decision he made was based in logic or on the law, how had things gone so far off the rails with Jim? There was no logic or law that could be applied to his Jim. He supposed that’s what love did to a man; made him a scrambled mess. All these hours later, Joe still couldn’t figure out why he had made such a snap decision about Jim. Why had his brain been on fast-forward in making the decision to break up with Jim? Why hadn’t he calmed the fuck down and thought it through before leaving the only man who would ever see behind the helmet to the living breathing man that wore it? Joe slammed his fist down on the kitchen counter and wondered for the hundredth time that hour if he should com Jim. Find out where he was and beg him to come home. This was Jim’s home. It sure as fuck wasn’t Joe’s anymore. The thought of spending the night here alone in what used to be his own private haven was nightmarish in reality. More than anything, Joe wanted to fall asleep with the curve of Jim’s back against his chest, his right hand wrapped securely around Jim’s heart. Joe picked up his com and punched in the code for Jim. It rang and rang until finally Jim’s sunny voice announced he couldn’t get to his com and to leave a message. “Jim, it’s ahh, Joe. Come home, Jim. Please just come home.” Joe was about to say “I love you,” but the words got stuck on a sob. Joe may have only his helmet and his pride left to him and he wasn’t so far gone as to cry on a voice recording. Fuck, maybe he should have cried so Jim would know how much he was missed.

By 9pm, Joe found that he couldn’t hold still any longer. Jim had not returned his earlier call and he was beginning to wonder if he should try again. If maybe this message should come from his heart. No, Joe decided, he wasn’t going to call Jim, he would use the GPS feature in Jim’s helmet to locate his partner. He booted up his computer and entered the proper codes and passwords to request a track on Jim’s location. The result was a liquor store around the corner from his block. Joe felt the iron fist crushing his heart loosen a bit. Jim was just around the corner grabbing some beer or maybe something harder. Fuck knew he deserved it after everything Joe had put him through today. He shut down his laptop and lay down on the couch, wrapping himself in the soft blue blanket that he and Jim and spent many nights curled up in together. Dredd fell asleep secure in the knowledge Jim would be home soon and he could set things to rights.

 

A knock at the door startled Dredd from a sound sleep. He checked his watch noting it was 11pm. His heart sank a little that Jim felt he had to knock on the door to the apartment when he had always used his keys and walked right in just like he owned the place. Joe ran his hands through his sleep matted hair, wanting to look as good as he could for all of the apologizing and groveling he was going to have to do in order to win Jim back.

Dredd shot the deadbolts back and opened his front door, not to see Jim standing there, but to see Judge Giant. Joe shook his head and blinked several times, thinking that when his vision cleared again he would see his lover standing before him. He had no such luck.

“Giant, what are you doing here?” Confusion was reigning in his mind. He didn’t, no couldn’t run through all of the awful reasons a member of his squad sector was standing at his door at such a late hour.

“Need to talk to you, Joe. Can I come in?” Giant was still in his uniform, his helmet was under his left arm.

“Yeah, man.” Joe stepped out of the way and ushered the other man inside, closing and bolting the door behind them.  “Want a beer?” Joe offered when they had walked into the kitchen. It was Joe’s last ditch effort to fool himself into believing this was a social call between colleagues.

“Sorry Dredd, I’m here on official business. What I have to tell you won’t be easy to hear.” Giant’s posture was ramrod straight. He was every inch a judge, here on professional matters, this was not a social call, nor was it an after-hours brainstorming session. There would be no good news.

Joe felt his heart shatter into a million pieces in his chest. He was going to fucking destroy whomever it was that harmed a hair on Jim’s perfect head. He took a deep breath to try to regain some of his composure. “Say it, Giant.” Dredd demanded. He dug deep for the courage to handle whatever it was without making a fool of himself and forcing Giant to comfort him.

He offered the helmet he had been carrying out to Dredd, who looked at it in confusion before taking it. “That’s Jim’s helmet, Joe. It was found in the back corner of Diamond Dave’s Liquor Emporium by the owner of the store, one David Newfall about an hour ago. He called us and we came out to investigate.”

“Where is Jim?” Joe asked weakly. Joe ran his fingers lovingly along the hard planes of the helmet. He flipped it over and noticed several short blonde hairs stuck to the protective inner lining. He felt his stomach churn at the thought this could be all that remained of Jim. Cold fury lit inside Dredd. He found his focus and zeroed in on Giant, waiting for the answer to his question.

“We don’t know. His Lawmaster was parked out front. All of the security protocols were in place and had not been hacked or even tampered with. The helmet was found in the store as was a full shopping basket, which was filled with some beer and whiskey. It’s like Jim just set everything down and walked out of the store.”

Dredd knew that wasn’t the case. Judge James T. Kirk was not the kind of man to just walk away from everything. No, he had been taken and Joe knew exactly who was behind the abduction: Doctor Heart. By leaving that last message intimating he was coming after Joe, Doctor Heart had shifted the game board. He d switched his focus from Jim to Dredd and Dredd by separating from Jim, romantically and physically had played right into the demented creep’s game plan; Divide and conquer. “Doctor Heart has Jim. We need to act quickly.”

“Whoa, Dredd don’t you think that’s jumping the gun a bit?” Giant had known Dredd for years, had trained with him when he was a rookie Judge himself. He had looked up to and tried to emulate his mentor and hero, but this seemed to be a sudden leap to make. What would Doctor Heart want with Jim?

“You know Jim, know how he works. Does he seem the type to just drop everything and walk away from his own life?”

Giant thought over what Dredd was saying and shook his head. “I wouldn’t have thought that was possible Dredd, not until today. That boy was looking pretty lost when I saw him leaving the Hall of Justice. The Judge Kirk I met in the beginning wouldn’t have walked away from anything, but after losing you, Joe, maybe he felt he had nothing left worth coming back to.”

Joe didn’t think his heart could break any further, but it did just the same. “Be ready to ride in ten minutes. I want to see the store where Jim was abducted and walk the scene. Make sure all the witness statements have been taken. I want to read them all and possibly question everyone who was there myself. I need to change and we’ll leave. I want you working point on this case.”

“Do you think it’s a good idea for you to be involved in this investigation, Joe? Conflict of interest and all that?” Giant was sure what Dredd’s answer would be, but had to ask all the same.

“No one will work this case harder than I will. I’m going to get him back. Help me or stay back, Giant. Choose wisely.”  He was going to find his Sunshine come hell or high water. If one hair was harmed on Jim’s head, there would be hell to pay and grud help anyone who got in his way.

[](http://postimg.org/image/50pb3so41/full/)   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was stuck with this story about two weeks ago and ReadItHoney, who was on the road driving to a business conference three hours away from home asked if she could brainstorm it with me. I of course agreed! She was talking so fast that I was only writing down the gist of what should happen in each of the next several chapters. I was just happy to have the ideas on paper. When I sat down with this chapter today, I saw that I had only written two sentences. “Joe doesn’t know Jim is missing. No Jim in this chapter at all.” Annnnnd GO! Here’s the mystery and miracle in what happens in a perfect storm. I sat with those sentences for five minutes and jotted down a hasty sketch on a heart shaped sticky note. I pulled up a blank Word doc, titled it and saved it. Here’s the miracle, my fingers touched the keys and nothing existed for the next seventy minutes but this story. I couldn’t type fast enough.
> 
> Joe Dredd is the kind of man who makes a decision and sticks with it. He’s not the kind of man, personally or professionally who does a lot of middle of the night ceiling staring. There is no room in his life for second guessing…until today. I wanted him to realize that he was wrong, a feeling that would be foreign to him. Making the decision to get Jim back and then not being able to see Jim must be agonizing for Joe.
> 
> Jim will be back next week…
> 
> I am so blessed to have another piece of amazing artwork from Lopsided-Whiskey-Grin. It's Joe with Jim's tee shirt. This is so detailed. I love when you tell the story with your lines. Thank you SO much!


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dredd is trying to find Jim who finally learns the identity of his captor.

Judge Joseph Dredd was pissed off. He arrived at the scene of Jim’s abduction ready to hit the ground running, only to find all of the Judges working the scene laughing and joking with each other. Dredd shoved his way into the middle of the gathering. “One of our own has been abducted by a serial killer and you are all standing around laughing?” Dredd’s voice was quiet but resonated with his anger. “If this fucking creep harms one hair on Judge Kirk’s head, I’m coming for your badges, then your asses. Count on it.” Dredd looked them all in the eye, memorizing each name and face he encountered. He broke away from the stunned Judges to find Giant.

It was exactly as he feared. There was no evidence left behind. Dredd had walked the cordoned off area where Jim had parked his Lawmaster. All was as it should have been. He had secured the bike as protocol dictated before leaving it to walk into the store.  Knowing there was nothing left to see outside, Joe walked into the liquor store. Joe walked the aisles noticing not one bottle was broken or out of place. If Jim had been conscious or not under threat of a weapon, he would have been kicking and fighting his abductor, as there was no sign of a struggle, Joe had to conclude Jim had gone willingly or under the power of the creep who had taken him.

He noticed the ceiling of the store was line with cameras. “Where’s the video room?” Joe asked Giant who had been trailing along silently behind.

Giant sighed. “Cameras are dummies, Joe, here to scare people off.  They don’t have recording devices inside.”

Dredd shook his head, fighting back a wave of anger so strong it threatened to consume him alive. What kind of proprietor in this day and age did not have functional video cameras? Then it hit him, the kind who had more to lose because of what would be on those tapes rather than from being robbed. Was anyone honest and law abiding in this fucking City?

Joe walked the area where Jim’s helmet and shopping basket had been found. The glass bottled items were intact as if to suggest Jim had gently set the basket and its fragile contents on the floor. Joe’s heart pinched in his chest when he saw a six-pack of his favorite beer in among Jim’s intended purchases.

The trail of clues all lead to Jim being taken out of the store by the back entrance which was alarmed. Joe pushed the bar to open the door and the siren wailed. The fake video cameras, the undisturbed store and the fact that no one on the street saw Jim leave, all pointed to the store owner being somehow involved in Jim’s disappearance. Joe realized the store owner knew more than he was saying to Judge Giant.  Joe signaled Giant to arrest him.

The only solace Joe could take from this crime scene is that there were no traces of blood. He knew it was a shaky hypothesis, but he didn’t think the kidnapper had harmed Jim. It would serve no practical purpose. Dredd knew Doctor Heart and there was no doubt in his own heart that was who had Jim, was using Jim as bait to lure him in. It was only a matter of time before he made contact with Joe. When he did, Dredd would be ready for the fight of his life. He was going to save Jim no matter what it cost him, even if the price was his own heart.

 

He was cold; cold to the very marrow of his bones. Bright blue eyes snapped open to find only darkness. Jim was alive. Where was he and where was Joe? Joe…his memory came back with laser sharpness. Joe had left him, choosing his work over their relationship. As much as that hurt, Jim couldn’t afford to dwell on something he couldn’t change. He needed to figure out what had happened and if he could fight his way out of here, wherever here was.

Jim remembered driving through Mega-City One trying to find a way to soothe his broken heart. He should have just gone back home, back to Joe’s apartment, rather and packed all of his things while Dredd was still at work, but he had been holding on to a shred of hope that some time apart would soften Joe’s attitude toward their breakup. He had hoped Joe would beg him to stay. Jim had as much pride as the next man but none at all when it came to his feelings for Joe. He would settle for just one more kiss from those plush lips, his face cradled by Joe’s hands.

STOP! He ordered himself. This wasn’t helping anything. Jim needed to take stock of himself and his situation. He walked through his own body trying to ascertain if he was hurt or bound in anyway. His hands were bound behind his back. He came away with sharp pain when he moved his wrists and could feel smooth plastic biting into his skin. Ziptie, he thought. His ankles were also bound, but over his socks. He had no way of knowing how his legs had been secured. The right side of his face was lying flat on a cold surface, probably concrete, he thought.  Jim shifted his body into an awkward sitting position and took a deep breath, so far so good.

Jim needed to use his other senses to gather data. The dark was all encompassing, he could not see a shred of light from anywhere in the room. He sniffed deeply and his nose was assaulted with the smell of bleach or some kind of high strength industrial cleaner. He could be anywhere. Worse, he had been holding his helmet in the liquor store when he had been abducted and the helmet had his GPS chip. No one would be able to find him. He was going to have to figure a way out on his own.

The sound of screeching metal assaulted Jim’s ears causing him to cringe and try to burrow the left side of his face into his shoulder to block some of the noise, while simultaneously shutting his eyes against the bright light coming from the outside world into his personal dungeon.

“AH you’re awake. I wondered if you’d sleep the entire day away.” The voice was deep and smooth.

Jim held his tongue. He decided it would be better not to antagonize his captor, though he had no doubt that in his position Dredd would do just that.

“Cat got your tongue, Judge Kirk or should I just call you Jim?”

Jim yawned long and loud hoping it conjured up a suitable air of boredom.

“You always were a stubborn motherfucker.” It was obvious this man knew Jim or at least thought he did well enough to fake it. From his position on the floor with the kidnapper backlit as he stood in the doorway, Jim couldn’t make out any recognizable features.  He would bide his time and wait the man out. These narcissistic, power hungry assholes always wanted to talk, especially about themselves. Jim knew he wouldn’t have long to wait for the mystery to be revealed.  Jim would let him talk as he gathered clues, which wouldn’t be easy with his brain still a little fuzzy from the chloroform.

“You’re wondering how we know each other, aren’t you?  Maybe you arrested me once or a dozen times or I was a witness to a crime, hmmm?” The man allowed Jim a few short seconds to answer and when no answer came, continued on, “You’re looking for some clue to my identity from my height or my build, aren’t you, Jim? Or listening to the cadence of my voice, straining to hear the slightest hint of an accent?” The man laughed. It sounded mechanical and cold, not that Jim was expecting warmth or comfort from this creep. He could hear Joe’s voice in the back of his mind, calling this guy a creep in his deep gravelly voice. Jim sighed.

“He doesn’t even know I have you, Jim.” More maniacal laughter bubbled out of his captor. “Thoooough rumor has it even if he did know he’d leave you to sink or swim with me. How does it feel, Jim that he loves the law more than you?”

“Fuck off, creep.” Jim winced at his tone, he winced harder that he’d allow this fucker to taunt him with Joe. How did this guy know that Joe had broken up with him to re-focus on his job? Was this guy a judge or related to one? That thought sunk Jim’s spirit lower than knowing Joe didn’t even know he was missing. He had no doubt Joe would come for him, lovers or not Joe was a Judge and wouldn’t leave another Judge to fight or die alone.

“Truth be told, Jim, I feel you man. I feel you. You might find this hard to believe but I had someone who loved me like that once.”

“How nice for you.” Jim said dryly. Loved him like what? Loved the law more than him? Was this guy the ex-husband of a judge who’d left him high and dry for their copy of the Lawmaker?

“It was nice. I enjoyed fucking him very much. He was a good, obedient slut, nice manners, never a hair out of place.” The man sighed. “The law became more important to him than me and that caused problems. So you see, Jim, I know how you feel not having your precious Dredd at your side.”

“Whatever you think you know is wrong.” Jim was done listening to this jackass try to tell his tale of woe. He could feel his own blood running down his fingers as he twisted and pulled at the zips securing his hands behind his back. “Why don’t you just cut the bullshit and tell me why I’m here.”

“You really don’t know, Jim? I would have thought a Judge with your reputation would have figured this out long ago. Guess, Dredd was the brains in your relationship.”

Jim growled and yanked harder at his bonds.

“What, too soon?” The man laughed again. “You mean to tell me between my clues, the sound of my voice and seeing me standing here, you have no idea who I am?”

Jim thought he recognized something in the voice, but he couldn’t wrap his fuzzy mind around it long enough to make a connection. “Stop being such a melodramatic pussy and step into the fucking light.” Jim commanded. 

He heard a switch snap in response and the room was flooded with light. Jim slammed his eyes shut against the harsh fluorescent glare. He sensed movement in his direction and when he chanced to open his eyes a crack he could see heavily booted feet stopping to stand in front of him. He kept his eyes trained on the kidnapper’s boots until his eyes slowly adjusted to the bright light. Jim followed the boots up and saw long, powerfully built legs. Large hands sat on his hips and a ghost of a memory raced through Jim’s mind but it was gone before he could catch it and hold on. The hands were attached to powerfully muscled arms, but what caught Jim’s attention was the metal chest plate which reminded Jim of something a medieval knight would have worn during battle. Jim sucked in a breath and steeled himself for the end of the mystery. He gathered his courage and looked his abductor square in the eye.

“Hi, Jim.” The man smiled sadistically.

“No.” Jim whispered.

“That’s all you have to say, Jim? Little chatterbox like you, I’d think you’d have a bit more to say than just one word. It’s not every day a former lover comes back from the dead, is it?”

Jim was stunned, if he hadn’t been sitting on the cold floor he had no doubt he would have fallen down from the shock. He shut his eyes and shook his head to clear the cobwebs from his brain and when he opened his eyes he was staring at the face of his long dead lover. “Bane.” It was the only thing Jim could say.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How many of you figured it out before the last line??
> 
> It has been a long journey to get to this point. To be honest with you, I didn't know who Doctor Heart was when I started writing this story. I figured inspiration would strike as I kept writing and thankfully that's exactly what happened. You'll hear more of Bane's story next week.
> 
> Have no fear, Dredd is still on the case!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bane fills Jim in on his death, Later, Dredd makes a deal to get Jim back.

It wasn’t possible, it just…wasn’t possible. How was it possible that Evan Bane was standing before him alive and well? “You died in my arms.” Jim offered weakly. 

“That was all part of the master plan, Jim.” Bane laughed.

“Master plan? I don’t understand.” Jim’s mind was in a haze, from the drugs or Bane’s miraculous return from the dead, Jim didn’t know. It was probably a combination of the two.

“Jim, Jim, Jim, when is it ever acceptable to leave your partner’s side at an active crime scene?” Bane’s tone was condescending.

Jim looked dumbly at Bane. It was never acceptable to leave your partner. “I never wanted to separate that day, Bane. I begged you to change your mind, but you were the senior Judge on the scene I had to obey your commands.”

“Exactly, that was the master plan. You were the perfect dupe for what I had planned. You never would have challenged a direct order.” Bane sneered proudly.

Jim thought back to something Bane had said before he’d revealed his identity. He said that he’d had a lover who thought the law was more important that their relationship. Bane must have been talking about he and Jim, but what did it mean? “I was the lover, wasn’t I Bane? The one who the law was more important to than you?”

“Of course it was you. You fucking goody-two-shoes. You felt guilty for jay-walking, there was no way you would go along with what I had planned, you’d never join me out of your own free will.”

“Stop talking in fucking riddles, Bane. Spit it out or shut the fuck up.” Jim was at his breaking point. His anger was building and that would only get him hurt. He needed to calm down and get Bane to keep talking, which didn’t seem like it would be all that difficult.

Bane was impressed with Jim’s balls, there weren’t many men who would dare to speak to him in that manner. “I was in deep with Pestilent Plague. They asked me to join them for a cut of the profits and I said yes, the money, Jim all of the fucking money was irresistible.”

“What are you saying, Bane, that you were working for the biggest drug gang in Mega-City One?  Jim would have known if Bane had extra money. He would have known if Bane was working for a large scale criminal organization, wouldn’t he?

“That’s what I’m saying. Boy you really are that fucking stupid.” Bane shook his head. “Remember that bust we made, biggest bust in the history of the City?”

Jim nodded in agreement. He did remember that bust. He’d never seen more Purple Plague in one place in his life. Plague was a man-made drug that created a rush of euphoria quickly followed by a descent into despair. Why people would want to feel like that was something Jim could never understand.  After the bust, Judges were lauded as heroes in the local media. Getting rid of that much poison off the streets of the City had garnered a lot of good will. That good will had lasted thirteen precious days until there had been a break in at the evidence room and all eight hundred pounds had gone missing. Understanding slammed into his brain moments later. “It was you,” he whispered.  “You were the one responsible for the break in and the theft of the drugs.”

“Ho, ho, a gold star for Judge Kirk. You finally figured it out Jimmy and only just after time had run out, I’m sorry, but you won’t be leaving with a brand new car, we do however have a lovely parting gift for you, a set of steak knives.” Bane was giddy at his own joke.

“I’m so fucking stupid.” Jim whispered to himself. He had been so head over heels in love with Bane that he had missed something this big going on right under his nose. His lover had been a criminal mastermind and Jim’s head had been lost in the clouds. If he was honest with himself, the same thing had happened with Dredd. Jim was drunk on love and hadn’t noticed Joe was planning on leaving him. He felt tears start in the back of his eyes.  What else had he missed about Joe Dredd?

“Boy, you are man-stupid, Jim. Can’t go more than five minutes without thinking about Dredd. Fuck, you’re pathetic. Buuut, if you had been that pathetic about me we wouldn’t be in this mess now would we?”

“What are you talking about, Bane? You’re death destroyed me. I never even thought about being in another relationship until Joe. It’s been two years you’ve been gone.” Jim had been a wreck, not able to eat or sleep for weeks. He’d almost lost his judgeship over Bane’s death, not over what had happened at the crime scene but over his inability to come back to work and be productive.

“Are you sure that’s your final answer, Jim?” Bane taunted.

Jim could never have thought of being with anyone else after losing Evan the way he had. The guilt had nearly pulled him under. It had taken a year of therapy to realize he wasn’t responsible for Bane’s death.  “I never dated anyone until Joe.”

“Always gotta do things the hard way don’t you, Jim?” Bane’s heavily booted foot kicked out at Jim, slamming into his chest and sending him crashing backward onto his bound hands, his head bounced off the concrete floor. 

Jim couldn’t catch his breath, his lungs were burning and his brain felt scrambled. He might have some broken ribs and a concussion. He rolled to his side and took slow shallow breaths.

“What about Marie, Jim? Huh, you remember that dumb slut?” Bane was yelling as he paced in front of Jim’s prone body.

“No.” Jim gasped. He had no idea who Marie was and didn’t much care. If he couldn’t get his breathing back under control nothing would matter ever again. Jim kept taking shallow breaths.  He slowly began to get his breathing under control. He noticed his head started to clear as well and he was able to think more clearly.

“You don’t remember fucking her two weeks after my death, Jim? You don’t remember her firm little tits and that tight ass?”

Jim knew who Bane was talking about. She was a cute little waitress Jim had met at some all night diner on Market Street back in Philly. “I never knew her name.” Jim managed to say.

“What if I told you her name was Marie Delacroix, Jim. Does that name ring a bell?” Bane’s voice held a note of pride in his revelation.

Jim struggled to sit back up. He was breathing easier now, but his breath caught at that name. He recognized it instantly. “She was Doctor Heart’s first victim. The only one who was…” Jim’s gut clenched. He remembered her pretty smile and easy laugh. She had known what Jim needed that night and didn’t hesitate to give freely of herself to him.

“Who was what, Jim, come on, spit it out.” Bane crowed.

“She was the only Doctor Heart victim who was sexually assaulted before she was murdered.” Saying she had been sexually assaulted was a gross understatement; she had been brutalized. “You killed that girl because I slept with her? I was drunk out of my mind and hurting and I just needed some human contact and you killed her for that? What about all of the others, Bane? I sure as fuck didn’t sleep with any of them, why did you kill them?”

“And we get to the heart of the matter at last.” Bane cackled at his own joke. “Get it, Jim, the _heart_ of the matter?” Bane dissolved into a fit of the giggles, laughing so hard it bent him double.

Jim watched Bane laugh. He couldn’t believe he had once loved this man with his entire soul. He lost two years of his life grieving for a man who had never shown any love to him at all. As devastated as he was over losing Joe, at least he could say Joe loved him and had shown that love constantly in both words and deeds. He needed to get out of here if only to see Joe one last time and say thank you for loving him so well.

Bane had gotten himself back under control again. “Sorry Jimmy, the rest of the story is going to have to wait for the arrival of our special guest.” His eyes were gleaming gold orbs.

Jim had loved those eyes, once upon a time. Loved the way the glowed golden after he and Bane had sex, he knew now what love truly was and he and Bane had never made love. All he saw in their depths now was insanity. “Dredd.” Jim stated.

“Yup, good ol’ Dredd is gonna want to hear the rest of this story. But I’m worried he won’t come when I call him. You ever have any trouble getting him to come, Jim?”

“Fuck off, Bane.” Jim would share nothing of his relationship with Dredd. Bane could kill him if he chose but he wasn’t going to share one detail of the love he’d found in Joe.

“Ah, well, no matter. I’ll just ask him myself.” Bane pulled a phone from his back pocket and started punching buttons. One of them must have been the speaker button as the ring tone of the phone echoed in the large room. 

The phone rang once, then twice. Maybe Bane was right and Joe wouldn’t come for him.

“Dredd.” A familiar and gravelly voice answered.

Jim let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding. His heart pinched hearing Joe’s voice.

“Hello Judge Dredd, it’s a pleasure to speak to you.” Bane shook his head ‘yes’ and pointed to the phone like some rabid fangirl, as if to say, “It’s him, it’s really him.”

“Doctor Heart, I presume?” Dredd deadpanned.

“Yes indeed it is, Dredd.”

“Let me talk to Jim.” Dredd was all business.

“Now wait just a minute Dredd…”

“I’m not saying another word until I hear Jim’s voice. You got five seconds to decide.”

“Jeeze Dredd, so pushy.” He turned to Jim, “Was he always this pushy with you.”

Jim glared at him.

“Fine Dredd, fine. Here he is.” To Jim he said, “No tricks I can hear every word and no giving away my identity, wouldn’t want to spoil the big reveal.”

“Joe, it’s Jim.”

“Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine.” Jim longed to tell Joe he loved him but kept his emotions in check. He didn’t want to give Bane anymore ammunition.

“Well, isn’t that a touching reunion between lovers. I bet the two of you are the life of the party. Oh wait, that’s right, you’re not a couple any more. How silly of me and here I was expecting declarations of love and happy tears.”

 “What do you want creep?” Jim could hear cold detachment in Dredd’s voice.

“You as it turns out Judge Dredd. It’s a simple exchange, you for Jim. As much as it pains me to say it, he isn’t as much fun as I remember.

“What do you need me to do?” Dredd asked softly.

“NO, Joe, don’t do this, it’s my mess, my fight. It’s not worth you dying for me. Don’t-”

“Shut up, Sunshine.” Joe said sharply.  “What do you need me to do?” Dredd repeated his earlier question.

All it took was that one word to send Jim’s spirit soaring. He’d tried to make himself sound hard, harsh even, but Jim knew Joe only ever used that nickname with affection. Not only was Dredd coming, he was coming for Jim.  Jim schooled his features to make sure Bane didn’t catch on.

“Dress in street clothes, no gun, no com, no GPS. Go back to the liquor store where Jim was abducted. Look beneath the only blue floor tile in the store. You’ll find an untraceable cell phone. Wait for my next call.”

“And if I do this, Jim goes free?”

“Jim goes free.” Bane agreed.

“Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was funnier earlier this week. My friend GoWashTheLights sent me a pic of Karl Urban and Jason Mamoa posing together at a Comic Con. She sent the pic with the title: It's Dredd and Doctor Heart! Uhhh, this is awkward... Look up the pics of them together, those boys are seriously yummy.
> 
> Bane, on the other hand is seriously insane. You're going to find out next week why he became Doctor Heart. There's nothing worse than a Judge turning against the law. I'm guessing Dredd's going to have something to say about that next week too!


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dredd follows Doctor Heart's rules and finds Jim.

After working tirelessly through the night, Giant forced Dredd to go home around first light. There was nothing he could do anyway. All the evidence that could have been collected had been collected. Joe was in no shape to conduct the interrogation of David Newfall, the owner of the liquor store from which Jim had been abducted. So he came home to their empty apartment; Joe would never again think of this space as his.

He had tried lying down to try to get some sleep. He put Jim’s tee shirt on Jim’s pillow and held it against his chest. When he closed his eyes he could smell Jim’s familiar scent, it soothed him, but not enough to make him sleep. He tossed and turned for a bit before getting up again. He had just gotten out of the shower when his phone started to ring with Doctor Heart’s call.

Jim had sounded tired and heartsick, but okay. Joe would have plenty of time later to mend Jim’s broken heart, what mattered now is that Jim was safe. Dredd had no reason to believe Jim would be set free when he turned himself over into Doctor Heart’s hands. It would be up to him to kill the killer and save Jim. One thing was made plain by the phone call, Doctor Heart knew Jim. His statement that Jim wasn’t as fun as he was in the past was telling. No one who knew Jim in his professional capacity would have termed him fun. For all of Jim’s sunshine, he was a tough Judge, never cracking a smile or showing weakness in an interrogation. No, whoever this creep was, he knew Jim Kirk, not Judge Kirk. He took a couple of deep breaths to clear his head before walking into the bedroom to change as he had been instructed to do.

Dredd would follow the rules, no gun, no com, no GPS, no tricks. Jim’s life depended on his ability to follow the rules. Dredd found it hard to believe Jim had been spilling the secrets of their life together, but Doctor Heart had known that Dredd and Jim were no longer a couple. Someone, possibly within the Judge corps was feeding the killer information. Dredd had no doubt his moves would be tracked and probably followed. He dressed quickly and left the apartment on foot.

Diamond Dave’s Liquor Emporium was dark and secured with holo-crime scene tape. Joe quickly entered his passcode and the force field dissipated long enough for him to step through the invisible barrier. He kicked open the locked door and threw the light switch. Dredd roamed the aisles of the store until he found the single blue floor tile. He carefully pried it up and reached into the crawl space. His hand bumped along, encountering cobwebs and dust until he brushed against a plastic bag. He reached for it and pulled it out to find a phone sealed within it. Now all he had to do was wait.

The phone rang minutes later, confirming Joe’s suspicion that he was being watched and followed. “Dredd.”

“Nice to see you following directions like a good little boy.” Doctor Heart purred.

“Now what?” Dredd demanded. He was trying to keep his cool but was quickly running out of patience. He knew Jim was cool under fire and tried to channel Jim’s calm. It wasn’t working.

“Turn and face the door to the liquor store, you will see a man standing there.”

Joe could see a shadow outside the door. There had been no siren from the breach of the crime scene tape, whomever was outside waiting for him was also a Judge. Only Judges had passcodes to crime scenes. Dredd felt his blood boil that one of their own had betrayed not only himself and Jim but the entire Judge Corps. He would deal with that later, right now his only priority was Jim. “I see him.” Joe ground out.

“Ah, I see you’ve identified him as one of Mega-City One’s finest.” The voice laughed. It was evil, sending a shiver of cold sweat down Dredd’s spine. “He’s going to come in and chloroform you and you’re going to let him do it.”

“Like hell I am.” Dredd exploded into the phone. He heard a scream from the other end of the phone and knew the bastard had hurt his Jim.

“I don’t think I heard you correctly, Dredd, what was that last answer?”

“Let me talk to Jim. Hear that he is all right and I’ll agree, okay? Just let me talk to Jim.” Dredd’s heart was pounding. His temper had gotten Jim hurt. He was going to enjoy killing this fucker.

“Dredd?”

Jim’s voice was weak and filled with pain. Joe could hear him trying to put up a good front. “Are you okay, Jim?” Dredd’s voice was on the edge of cracking, he needed to pull himself back together. He needed to be at the top of his game in order to get to Jim.

“Takes more than a kick to the ribs to hurt me, Dredd.” Jim’s voice was soft and strained.

Joe winced, wondering if Jim was trying to tell him where he’d been hurt or if that was a dig at Joe for ending their relationship. He decided Jim was trying to give him information, Jim was a lot of things, but backhanded was not one of them. “I’m coming for you.” Dredd rasped into the phone and at that moment didn’t know if he meant Jim or the killer.

“How cute, you’re coming to save your boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend, who the hell can keep track of you two crazy kids.” The voice laughed again and Joe feared for Jim more than ever. This creep was insane.

“I’m not coming for him, Doc. I’m coming for you.” Dredd broke the connection and shouted out to the Judge standing beyond the door.  “Come and get me, motherfucker.”

A man dressed in a Judge uniform walked into the store carrying a bottle and a rag. “No trouble or blondie dies, Dredd. No second chances.”

“How dumb can you be, wearing your helmet here? You’re passcode and the GPS in your helmet will lead the other Judges right to you. Stupid fucking prick.”

“Only dumb prick I see in this room is you. You’re both gonna die, you know, cause if he doesn’t kill you, I sure as fuck will. After you watch me have a little fun with your boy that is. He’s one fine piece of ass Dredd, beats the fuck outta me what he sees in you.”

“Shut the fuck up and do it.” Dredd commanded. His last thought before the chloroform took him was of Jim and the sunshine in his hair.

 

The screech of the metal doors startled Jim from his light doze. He tried to even out his breathing and kept his eyes shut hoping that would fool Bane. He didn’t have the strength to deal with another of his confrontations or questions about his relationship with Joe.  Jim could hear low voices outside the door and then the sound of something heavy being dragged into the room.

“Help me lift him onto the table then get out.” Bane demanded.

Jim heard more shuffling and heavy breathing before something large thumped hard against something metal. There was more shifting around and what sounded like buckles being fastened. Footsteps were coming closer to where Jim was lying on the floor. He cried out when something hard connected with his already bruised ribs.

“Wakey, wakey, Jim. Romeo is here.” Bane snickered.

“I don’t believe you.” Jim said softly, hoping the disbelief in his voice would prompt Bane to show him where Dredd was and in doing so, show him more of the room.

“We can’t have that, now can we, Jim? The bedrock of every good relationship starts with trust. So, up you come.” Bane reached down and hauled Jim onto his feet. Jim screamed from the pain the sudden movement caused his ribs. Bane reached back into his pocket and pulled out a blade. He sliced through the ziptie securing Jim’s wrists.

Jim pulled his arms back to the front and used his aching, bloody hands to massage each other. He gasped when both hands broke out into pins and needles.  Jim pinged a newly awoken finger against Bane’s metal chest plate. “What the hell is this?”

Rather than answer his question, Bane shoved Jim around to face what looked like an autopsy table. He stumbled over his still bound feet finally catching his balance. He saw the sleeping form of Joe Dredd strapped down to the table.

Jim’s breath caught in his throat. He could see Dredd’s chest slowly rising and falling. He was alive. “Let me see him, Evan, please.” Jim begged. He felt tears sliding down his face and did nothing to stop them or bat them away. He was sick of hiding his feelings, he loved Joe and he didn’t care if Bane knew it.

“Everyone deserves closure, Jim.” Bane chirped happily, dragging Jim to stand beside the table.

Jim reached out and ran a hand down Joe’s face. He had often done this while Joe slept. He was able to study and touch the cranky Judge to his heart’s content when the other man was asleep. Joe didn’t like being petted.

“Enough.” Bane barked, yanking Jim roughly away from Dredd. “Time to get this show on the road.” He walked around to the other side of the table and grabbed a red bucket off the floor. He upended the contents over Joe’s face.

Jim could see from his position opposite Bane that the bucket was full of water. He heard Joe gasp for breath and went to make a move toward him when he began to topple on his bound feet. Jim threw out both arms to steady himself.

Dredd came back to consciousness wet and sputtering for air. He couldn’t move anything except his head. Joe snapped his eyes open only to be blinded by bright lights. “JIM?” He roared.

“Here, Joe, I’m on your left hand side.”Jim called out.

“Where is he, where is Doctor Heart?” Joe gasped, straining at his bonds.

“I’m right here Dredd.” Bane said from Joe’s right side.

Dredd focused on getting his eyes adjusted to the light. He squinted his eyes open a tiny bit and was able to see a large man standing nearby, he snapped his eyes shut against the light, opening them a few seconds later and looking into the face of Doctor Heart. “Judge Bane.” He growled.

“In the flesh, Dredd. Well mostly in the flesh.” Bane laughed and tapped his metal chest the way Jim had done earlier. The ping of the metal echoed around the room.

“Keep your end of the bargain, Bane, let Jim go, you have me you don’t need him.” Dredd could feel panic creeping into his voice. He needed to stay calm to argue for Jim’s release.

“Come on now, Dredd, you’re smarter than that. You know I can never let Jim go. He’s the reason we’re all here after all.”

“Explain.” Joe commanded. He may be strapped to a table unable to move, but he still carried the authority of his position, wielding it like a weapon.

“Did you ever wonder how Doctor Heart came to be?” Bane asked with a serious tone.

“Yeah, Bane, I wondered a lot. Tell me.”

“Jim undoubtedly told you about the day I died.” Dredd nodded. “The operation didn’t go as smoothly as it should have. Their plot to take me out worked like a charm. I saw through the ‘domestic disturbance’ call out immediately. I knew they were going to kill me. I assumed I had outlived my usefulness to them or they were tying up loose ends. I sent Jim away so he wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire or die doing something heroic to save me. Assholes shot me in the chest shredding my heart in the process. My inside man was able to save my body before it went to recyc and with the help of a real doctor brought me back to the land of the living. Doctor did all he could but couldn’t save my heart so he gave me this instead.” Bane fumbled with the metal plate covering his chest, finally removing it to reveal a rectangular hole in his chest, the same size as the holes meticulously cut into the chests of his victims. Beating within the cavity was a mechanical heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not looking good for our Judges is it? 
> 
> The line where Bane tells Dredd he sent Jim away so he would be caught in the crossfire is endlessly fascinating for me. Bane may have never told Jim how he felt about him, but this gesture alone shows that he did at one time care for Jim. Too little, too late, but Bane wasn't all bad either. Jim would see that as a shade of gray. Dredd would only see black.
> 
> More next week!


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bane explains how and why Doctor Heart came into existence.

“What do you mean you sent me away so I wouldn’t die doing something heroic to save you?” Jim’s head was swimming. Bane knew he was going to die that day?

Bane’s laugh was hollow. “You really are fucking stupid, aren’t you, Jim?”

“Watch it.” Dredd growled from the table. “You got us both here Bane, a captive audience, so tell it, all of it, now.”

Bane bowed theatrically. “As you wish, Judge Dredd.” He began pacing around the table. “You missed the earlier part of the discussion. Jim will catch you up.” He shot finger pistols in Jim’s direction.

“Bane was part of Pestilence Plague, Joe. They recruited him after we made a huge drug bust and Bane was the one who liberated eight hundred pounds of Purple Plague from our evidence room in Philadelphia.” Jim sighed. “And before you ask, no, I didn’t know any of this until an hour ago.” Jim hung his head in shame. He could feel the heat creeping up the back of his neck.

Joe’s left hand jerked on his bonds and he reached for Jim. He could see the devastation on Jim’s face at not knowing his lover had been one of the bad guys. “What does that have to do with why we’re here?” His question was directed at Bane, but Jim was the one who cried out in response.

“Would you care to field that question as well, Jim? Bane made a motion as if he were swinging at a pitched baseball with a bat in his hand.

“It’s all my fault, Joe. All of it, the Doctor Heart murders, you being strapped to that table, all of it, my fault.” Tears began dripping from Jim’s down turned face.

Dredd growled and was viciously tugging at the restraints trying to get to Jim. “This isn’t your fault, Jim.” Dredd panted after exhausting himself.

Bane started to laugh. “Oh yes it is Judge, hate to break it to you, but is in fact ALL Jim’s fault. You see, your little, umm, what did you call him? Oh yeah, Sunshine. Seems your little _Sunshine_ is a dirty whore, Dredd.” Bane laughed again when Joe growled in response. “I see you don’t believe me, Dredd, but that’s okay, I’ll tell you what happened and you can be the judge. PFFTTT, the judge, get it, you’re a Judge?” No one laughed in response, unfazed, Bane continued. “You see Dredd, not two weeks after I was ‘dead’ Jim here, my sweet Jim was off fucking some waitress.”

Dredd couldn’t help it, he started to laugh. He was the first to admit he was a jealous bastard but the thought of Bane being jealous of Jim was hilarious. Good for Jim for getting back in the saddle again.

“Her name was Marie Delacroix, Dredd.” Bane said forcefully, a crooked smile on his lips.

Dredd stopped laughing. He knew that name, knew she was the first Doctor Heart victim, knew she had been savagely raped before her heart was cut out. “Let me get this straight, you were part of a criminal organization who attempted to silence you. Your inside man was able to save and revive you and you used your second chance to become a serial killer because your boyfriend, who believed you to be dead, had sex with a waitress?” It was too outrageous to be believed.

“He said he LOVED me.” Bane thundered. “I was going to come back for him when the heat died down, beg him to run away with me and start a new life in Mega-City Two. We could have lived like kings out there with all of the money I had hidden, but Jim had to go and ruin it with his overactive dick.”

Jim scrubbed his hands against his eyes as he tried to put his thoughts in order. “Yes, Bane, I did say I loved you, but you sure as fuck never said it back to me. You were dying in my arms and I begged you to say it just once so I would have it to hold on to and you still couldn’t do it. But you expected me to be celibate for the rest of my life out of respect for a man who used me? Fuck you, Evan. Fuck you and fuck this dungeon and fuck your plans and fuck your money.”

“Jim!” Joe cautioned. “No one’s fucking anything until Bane tells us the rest of the story. Why the hearts? Why all those women, because I know for a fact Jim didn’t sleep with all of your victims.”

“I was looking for the perfect replacement heart, Dredd.”

“Why? What’s wrong the mechanical heart? Those things are supposed to last centuries.” Dredd was confused, this made no sense. Why would Bane want another weak human heart?

“Even the mechanical heart is in love with Jim.” Bane said softly. “I need to find a new one that isn’t in love with him and I have finally found the perfect replacement in you, Dredd.”

“You fucking sadistic bastard.” Jim yelled, starting forward on his bound feet. He made it for a few steps before toppling to the floor in a heap.

“It makes perfect sense, Dredd. You’re incapable of loving anything, I mean hell you’re the one who broke up with Jim. That’s not something a man in love does, now is it?”

“You’re going to cut my heart out and transplant it into your own chest so that you’ll stop loving Jim? Dredd was incredulous. Bane was seriously crazy and as far as he could tell, there was no way out. He would fight until his last breath to save Jim, but he was going to die here on this table.

“That’s exactly what’s going to happen, Dredd and Jim here is going to help me.” Bane came around the table and yanked Jim back to his feet. Jim hadn’t heard him coming as he was busy trying to cut through the zip ties binding his ankles together.

Bane half dragged Jim around the table to a nearby drawer. He fumbled around until his hands landed on a pair of scissors. “Cut up the center of his shirt, Jim.” Bane demanded.

Jim locked eyes with Joe and saw pure love radiating back at him. Jim could see tears leaking out of Joe’s eyes running down his temples to soak into his hair. Jim made sure Joe could see the love he carried in his heart shine through on his own face. This may be the last time Jim would have to show Joe how much he loved him.

“Stop making moon eyes and cut the fabric or I’ll cut you.” Spittle flew from Bane’s lips, landing on Jim’s face.

Jim swiped his sleeve across his face as he turned back to Joe. “I’m sorry, Joe.” Jim whispered as he cut up the center of Joe’s black tee shirt. Jim had to pull the material about the thick leather strap that was secured around Joe’s stomach. Once he moved the material clear he resumed cutting until he reached the restraint just beneath the dip in Dredd’s collarbone. Jim remembered all the times he had swirled his tongue around the sexy freckle that rested in the dip. He couldn’t resist reaching out to touch it one last time. He looked up and saw Joe smiling at him. Joe must have been remembering those times as well.

Joe was busy memorizing every inch of Jim’s face as Jim began to cut his shirt. Joe almost laughed at the tiny peek of pink tongue sticking out of the side of Jim’s mouth. His tongue always appeared like that when Jim was deep in concentration over something. He jerked his hands against the restraints needing to touch Jim with his own hands one last time. Jim’s eyes met his own when he started to struggle. “I love you, Jim.” Dredd said simply.

Bane roared. He grabbed Jim and pulled him away from Dredd. “NO!” He yelled in Dredd’s face, his own turning purple in anger. “You’re supposed to be a robot, a, a fucking machine, loyal to the law only, not some stupid mortal capable of love. You were my only chance, Dredd my only chance of getting rid of Jim, now I’m stuck with him forever, stuck with those puppy dog eyes and his simpering voice in my mind. This ends now, Dredd. This ends fucking NOW!” Bane whirled and pushed his hand back into the drawer coming up with a scalpel. Its razor sharp edge glinted in the light. He grabbed Jim and forced him back around the table so hard that his hip smashed into it causing Jim to cry out in pain.

Bane wrapped one hand around Jim’s neck in a vice-like grip and used the other hand to force Jim to hold the scalpel.

Jim was fighting Bane, refusing to open his fingers to grasp the deadly instrument. He would not cause Joe’s death with his own hands. He was responsible for Joe being here but he was not going to make him bleed for loving Jim.

“You’ve got two choices, Jim.” Bane said into his ear. “You cut him or I will and you won’t like how I do it. I’ll slice into gut and let him slowly bleed to death. You’ll be strapped to this table watching with eyes you can never close because I’m going to slice off your eyelids.  I’ll be balls deep in his ass, fucking him for all he’s worth while you watch me. I’ll make him come again and again and you’ll be helpless to do anything but watch and listen to his cries of pleasure and then his cries of death.” Bane was shaking with anger as he laid out his terms to Jim.

Jim could feel the anger pouring out of Bane and into his own skin. He knew what he had to do now. He couldn’t let Bane torture Joe to death. “Fine.” Jim whispered. “I’ll do it myself.” He opened his hand for the scalpel.

“One wrong move, Jim and you know what will happen to him.” Bane hissed. He slapped the cold metal cutting tool into Jim’s hand and stepped back, wanting to see Dredd’s eyes as Jim cut into his skin. Bane needed to know if Dredd could even bleed. He was still convinced Dredd was still somehow inhuman. Bane knew all about Dredd being cloned from the DNA of Chief Judge Fargo and that Dredd along with his twin brother Rico had been given “modifications.” Bane’s mechanical heart was tripping faster in chest in anticipation of the first cut.

Jim grasped the tool tightly in his right fist. He stared at his hand thinking how odd it looked to be wielding this weapon. He blinked several times and looked up at Joe. “I love you, Joe. Never forget how very much I love you.” Jim slashed with all his strength at the leather restraint hold Joe down across his upper chest. He grabbed Bane with his left hand, his eyes were glowing an unholy shade of blue. He saw fear register in Bane’s eyes one second before slamming the scalpel into the surgical light hanging above the autopsy table.

“NO, JIM!” Dredd screamed as Jim’s body jerked with the flow of electricity.  Jim hadn’t cut all the way through the top strap and Joe was slamming his upper body forward trying to break through the last scrap of leather holding the strap together. Jim’s blue eyes were locked on Dredd’s as Joe continued to scream his name as he fought to free himself. He was reluctant to look away from Jim to see Bane also dancing from the electricity.

Suddenly, a fuse blew, plunging the room into darkness. Joe heard two thumps which he assumed were Jim and Bane’s bodies falling to the floor. He finally ripped through the top restraint and went to work to release the buckles of the straps across his stomach and legs. Once he was free he scrambled around the table, feeling his way around in the dark for Jim. He stumbled across Bane first, reaching out for his neck with two fingers feeling for a pulse. He found none and shoved Bane out of the way, his hands roaming the floor for Jim. His hands made contact with the back of Jim’s head, his hair was soft against Joe’s fingers. There would be time for that later, he thought as he swung Jim into his arms and broke for the lighted hallway outside the room.

Joe carefully placed Jim on the floor and dug into his back pocket for the cell phone Bane had forced him to retrieve from the liquor store. He quickly dialed headquarters, screaming for backup and an ambulance. He fell to his knees next to Jim, his fingers pushing against Jim’s neck, frantically feeling for a pulse. There was none. Jim was dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...To be continued.
> 
> Okay, fine, that was mean! Let me just leave you with this thought: There are two chapters left to go.
> 
> The idea of Jim sacrificing himself for Joe is something that fascinates me. It's the best and WORST kind of love story when this kind of thing happens. Think Titanic when there's only room for Rose on the floating debris, Jack knows he's going to die and saves her anyway! Make no mistake, Jim knew what he was doing when he saved Joe. Joe knew it too!


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joe fights to save Jim's life.

“Don’t you fucking die on me, Sunshine.” Joe was screaming as he performed CPR on Jim’s lifeless body. “Grud dammit, Jim, don’t die, don’t you leave me, Jim. Don’t you dare leave me.” He stopped his ramble to breath into Jim’s mouth. It wasn’t part of CPR protocol and hadn’t been in nearly ninety years but he’d seen it in a movie once and he needed to try it. He needed to do anything to save his Jim. “Come on, Jim, wake up, show me those amazing eyes.” Joe kept doing chest compressions. “So much to tell you,” He panted. “There’s so much left to say. You helped me find my words. You need to be here to listen to them. JIIIIIIM!” Joe bellowed his name.

 

Fifteen minutes later, the arriving paramedics had to pull Joe off of Jim. Joe was broken, he could barely lift either of his arms and his voice was no more than a whisper. “Get him on bypass.” Joe managed to squeak out. “Don’t give up on him.” Joe pleaded.

Another set of paramedics rushed in to treat Joe, who was having none of it. He was fighting them off every step of the way until a familiar voice stopped him cold.

“Dredd!” Chief Judge Hershey commanded. “You _will_ allow these paramedics to treat you, that’s an order do you hear me?”

Dredd nodded petulantly. “Save him.” Joe pleaded, grabbing for her hand. “You have to save Jim. If he needs a new heart to survive, give him mine. I’ll turn power of attorney over to you, Barbara. Jim needs to live.” Tears were coursing down his cheeks.

“If you go to the hospital and get yourself taken care of, I’ll go with Jim and make sure they do everything possible for him, Joe. I promise.” She waved the paramedics over to Dredd.

“One last thing,” Dredd whispered. “There was someone on the inside of the department working with Bane. White male about six feet tall. Get Judge Giant to stand guard over Jim. He’s the only other Judge aside from you I trust.  A paramedic pressed a hypospray to Dredd’s neck. “Save Jim, my heart.” He whispered before losing consciousness.

 

Dredd snapped awake in a cool, dark room. He pressed his mind back to remember what had happened. JIM! He surged forward to get out of bed and found himself tangled in a mass of wires and tubes, somewhere a siren started to blare. He was in the process of detangling himself when he heard footsteps running toward him. Two stout nurses charged into the room.

“Mr. Dredd, we need you to stay in bed and stop pulling on your IV lines.” Her look was stern.

“I need to find Jim, where is Jim?” Joe was frantic trying to rip himself free to get to Jim. He would search every room of this damned hospital to find him if he had too.

“Mr. Dredd, do not make me sedate you again. You are seriously dehydrated and you are on the mend from a separated left shoulder.

“WHERE.IS.JIM? I don’t give a fuck about myself, I need to get to Jim. Please, tell me where he is.” He could feel tears pricking at the back of his eyes. He was so tired and sore, he just wanted to sleep, but not until he saw Jim, saw with his own eyes that he was safe and breathing. 

The nurses looked away from Dredd and at each other, seeming to communicate without using words. Dredd’s heart sank. They weren’t able to save Jim and both nurses were trying to find a way to tell him that wouldn’t send him into orbit.

“He’s still on bypass, Mr. Dredd, there have been problems with fixing the electrical damage he suffered.”

“Problems? What problems?” Joe directed his questions to the brunette who had answered him the first time.

“Mr. Kirk needs a new heart.” She said gravely.

“So get him one, no matter the cost, whatever it is I’ll pay it.”

“It’s not a matter of cost, but a matter of compatibility. Mr. Kirk is ill suited for a mechanical heart.”

On the one hand, Joe was relieved to hear that, the thought of one of those things ticking inside Jim made him sick to his stomach. On the other hand, that left only transplantation of a live organ. “Give him my heart.” Dredd brightened considerably at that idea.

“Mr. Dredd, that is quite impossible.”

“My name is _Judge_ Dredd. I need to see Chief Judge Hershey immediately and I’ll need a wheelchair and directions to _Judge_ Kirk’s room.” Joe watched the nurses silently communicate again. “NOW!” The nurses scrambled out of the room.

Several minutes later Judge Hershey walked into the room. “I could hear you bellow from down the hall Dredd. I’m glad the regen was able to restore your voice to its normal decibel level.”

“Barbara, I need your help, I know how to save Jim.”

“You’re not giving him your heart Dredd.”

“Oh yes I am and you’re going to help me do it. Does the name Leland Moss mean anything to you?” Dredd found his first smile in what felt like years.

“The world famous cloning geneticist?”

Dredd nodded.

The Chief Judge’s eyes went wide in understanding as she reached for her phone.

The monotonous beeps and whirls of the machines were comforting to Joe. He was sitting in his wheelchair at the side of Jim’s ICU bed. Jim was a mess. There were tubes and colored wires everywhere. A machine breathed for him, while another pumped blood through his system. His skin was grey and lifeless and there was a dermal regen on his right hand working to repair the electrical burns from when Jim selflessly electrocuted himself to save Dredd’s life.

Tears slipped down his cheeks as his memory flashed back to Jim telling him he would always love him and then stabbing the scalpel into the light above the table. Dredd picked up Jim’s limp hand. “Don’t stop fighting Jim. I’ve got a way to bring you back to me just hold on a little longer.”

“Judge Dredd?” The brunette nurse walked into Jim’s room. “It’s time. The operating room is ready for you.”

Dredd nodded and turned back to Jim. “Keep fighting Jim. Never forget how much I love you.” Dredd kissed Jim’s hand and ran one of his own down Jim’s handsome face. “See you soon, Sunshine.” Dredd whispered as he wheeled his chair out of the room.

 

Dredd awoke several hours later to the sound of beeping and whirring. He opened his eyes and turned his head, he could see Jim resting in the next bed. Dredd smiled as he realized his request to be in the same room with Jim had been obeyed.

“Hey, you’re awake.” Judge Hershey said from right side.

“Jim?” Dredd whispered.

“They’re about to prep him for surgery, Joe. Yours went perfectly by the way.”

“Did Doctor Moss get what he needed?” That was the only thing that mattered to Dredd.

“He did, Joe. He also mentioned what an amazing specimen you are.”

Joe turned from the Judge to look over at Jim. “Is he strong enough for this surgery, Barbara?”

“I don’t know, Joe. The nurses aren’t saying much, we’re going to have to wait and see.”

If there was a worse sentence in the English language than that one, Joe was hard pressed to name it. He nodded and turned back to Jim.

 

The surgeon who had come to brief Joe about the surgery had told him it would take about twelve hours.  It had just gone past the fifteen hour mark and no one had by to update Joe in the last five hours. It had come as a surprise to only Joe that Jim had had signed his power of attorney over to Joe, giving him authority to make medical decisions for Jim when Jim was unable to make them for himself.

Joe was getting antsy, sitting still for too long did that to him anyway, but he needed to know what was going on with Jim. He pushed himself up in bed feeling the tug at the stitches in his own chest as he sat up. Dredd was in the process of pulling back the tape on his IV when the surgeon walked into the room.  “Jim? How is Jim?” Dredd’s heart was pounding in his chest.

The doctor smiled, “His new heart is beating just fine, Judge Dredd.”

Joe collapsed back onto his pillow and cried with relief. He was alive, Jim was alive.

“Judge Kirk will be in recovery for several more hours and then he’ll be brought back up here.” The surgeon pulled a com from the pocket of his scrubs and started pressing buttons. “Now, I know the next words out of your mouth are going to be about seeing Jim and I’m not going to allow that, Judge.”

Joe took a deep breath in preparation for telling the surgeon to get the hell out of his way, but stopped when Jim appeared on the smart screen above his bed. He could see Jim’s shadowy face and could hear the mechanical beats of Jim’s new heart as the blips displayed themselves on his monitor.

“I’ve instructed the nurses to leave the video feed live for you, that ends the moment you step foot out of this room. You’ve been through a cardiac procedure of your own today and you need to rest and let the regens do their work.” The doctor stepped closer to Joe and put a hand on his shoulder. “He’s going to need your full strength to care for him when it’s time to go home. Stay in bed, heal, if not for yourself for Jim.”

Joe nodded, once more feeling his emotions spilling from his green eyes. “Thanks Doc, for saving him, he’s my…my everything.” Joe buried his face in his hands.

“My pleasure.” He patted Joe’s shoulder and slipped out of the room.

Joe pulled the covers back up over himself and tried to relax back into the bed. He stared at the image of Jim on the screen in front of him, watching as the beats of his heart were recorded on the screen next to his bed. The beeping of Jim’s heartbeat slowly lulled Joe to sleep.

 

A rumbling sound woke Joe from his dreamless sleep. His eyes snapped open focusing instantly on the smart screen above his bed, Jim was gone. “JIIIIIIIMMMM!” Joe bellowed until his voice cracked. He wrapped his arms around himself and wailed again.

“Yell louder next time Joe, don’t think they heard you in Mega-City Two.” Jim’s voice was tired, but loud enough for Joe to hear as Jim’s hospital bed was wheeled into their room.

“Jim?” Joe sat up to see the nurses working to situate Jim’s bed, locking it in place and making sure his monitors were all working and none of his IV lines were kinked.

“Can I get you anything, Judge Kirk?” One of the nurses asked Jim.

“Maybe some earplugs in case my roomie gets loud again?” Jim’s smile was weak.

She laughed and turned to Joe, “How about you, Judge Dredd can I get anything for you aside from the regen for your vocal chords?”

Joe shook his head, too overcome with emotion to speak.

The nurse walked to him and did a quick check of his vital signs. She started unhooking his monitors and shut off his IV, removing the plug but leaving the port in his hand. “He’s been talking about you non-stop since he woke up. I’ll be back in about…twenty minutes with the regen. Is that enough time to say what needs saying?”

Joe nodded in gratitude, swiping tears from his face.

She stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Joe bolted upright and flung himself out of bed and over to Jim. His hands fumbled for Jim’s neck and his pulse points, closing his eyes in relief as he felt the strong beats of Jim’s heart through his fingertips.  He sat on the edge of Jim’s bed with a weary sigh and leaned down to kiss Jim’s dry lips. “Jim.” Joe whispered reverently against Jim’s skin.

Jim brought his hand up to Joe’s face, his fingers rubbing against the three day stubble on Joe’s cheeks. “Rumor has it you were quite the hero. I heard something about a dislocated shoulder from performing CPR on me for so long, Joe.”

“Had to save you, Jim. Had to tell you…” Joe buried his face into Jim’s shoulder not wanting him to see his tears.

“Had to tell me what, Joe?” Jim asked gently, his hand sliding into Joe’s hair.

“Tell you I was wrong and I’m sorry and I love you so grud damn much, I wanted them to give you my heart, without you I wouldn’t need it anyway.”

Jim smiled into Joe’s hair and held him closer. “Something tells me I got your heart anyway, huh Joe?”

Joe sat up and smiled at Jim. “They wouldn’t take my actual heart, so I had Judge Hershey call the cloning geneticist who created my brother and me and they took tissue samples from my heart and cloned a new one for you, Jim.”

Jim couldn’t believe what Joe was telling him. He had Dredd’s heart beating in his chest? “I meant metaphorically, but this works too.” Jim laughed.

“The nurses didn’t tell you?” Joe started to laugh, his broken voice joining with Jim.

“No, they told me I had gotten a new heart, but they didn’t tell me it was yours. I don’t know how to say thank you for that, Joe, except to tell you how much I love you.”

Dredd leaned back in to kiss Jim’s lips softly. “Just promise me you’re not going to turn into a serial killer.”

“With your heart beating in my chest? Never. Although that explains why I feel the overwhelming need to say, ‘I am the LAW.’”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I forgiven for the way I left you all hanging last week?
> 
> Those of you who are familiar with Middle Earth:The Final Frontier may have had an AH HA moment at the line, "Save Jim, my heart." I wrote this line inadvertently and then realized later what I had written. Joe of course meant, "Save Jim, use my heart if you need to." However it reads like a line from Middle Earth. 
> 
> I left the heart surgeon nameless here, but I like to imagine it's Bones...
> 
> I wrote the last several chapters of this story all at once over the course of a weekend. So in my reality, Jim was only dead for the fifteen minutes it took me to go to the bathroom and grab a bottle of water before starting on this chapter. I knew how hard it would be for all of you to wait a week to learn his fate. If it makes you feel any better, I was an absolute wreck weeks before when I was sketching out how this story would end and realized what Jim would do to save Joe. It was heartbreaking.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Jim is out of the hospital, he and Joe decide what to do about their relationship.

Jim was covered in drool. Joe had taken to sleeping against Jim’s right shoulder, his own right arm slung across Jim’s body, his hand resting on Jim’s chest. Jim didn’t have the heart to wake him as these last four weeks had been hard on them both.

Joe’s stay in the hospital ended much sooner than Jim’s had, but that didn’t mean the surly Judge had gone back home. He stayed at Jim’s side every step of the way.  The nurses just sighed and shook their heads when they had seen the single hospital beds pushed together to form one large bed. Both Jim and Joe slept better when the other was within their reach. Joe wanted to be there for every step of Jim’s recovery. He was Jim’s silent cheerleader during his physical therapy sessions, a shoulder to cry on when the pain was too great for Jim to bear and was comic relief when Jim got surly himself.

Jim turned toward Joe and ran his fingers down his sleeping face. They hadn’t talked at all about their future at all since Jim had woken up in the hospital. Jim worried what would happen to them since he had been cleared for active duty once again.

“Hey.” Joe said sleepily, nuzzling his face against Jim’s fingers.

“Mornin’ Joe.” Jim leaned in for a kiss.

Joe pecked Jim’s lips, still not sure it was safe to kiss him.

“Jooooe, I’m not a china doll, the docs cleared me for physical activity last week.” Jim waggled his eyebrows at Joe. “ALL physical activity.” Jim slid a hand down Joe’s side until he was grabbing Joe’s ass to pull him closer.

“Jim, I’m just not sure you’re ready for this.” Joe sighed.

“You’re the one who’s not ready, Joe. Admit it.” Jim challenged and pushed away from Joe to get out of their bed. He paced silently before turning back around to confront Joe.

“Not to beat a dead horse, Joe, but before the shit hit the fan you broke up with me. Told me your work was more important than our relationship. Now, you’ve done an amazing job of taking care of me while I was recovering, but look at me.” Jim waited until Joe met his eyes before continuing. “LOOK at me, Joe, I’m good as new, ready to return to active duty on Monday.” Jim paced around the room a bit holding the back of his neck with his right hand.  “I haven’t wanted to say anything about this, I was hoping you would have brought it up first, but what are we doing, Joe? Are we broken up? Are we back together? Are we just friends? Professional colleagues? Because I’m fucked if I know!”

Jim was right, they should have had this conversation a long time ago. “I’m sorry, Jim.” Joe’s heart clenched in his chest when he saw Jim deflate in front of him. “I’m sorry I was too scared to bring this up myself. I was a complete dick to break up with you like that. I thought I was being noble, sacrificing my feelings to keep you safe and it nearly got us both killed. You died to save me, Jim, you did that after I told you I didn’t want you in my life anymore.” Joe took a hitching breath and looked back up at Jim who was watching him with a curious look on his face.

“Chief Judge Hershey told me they want me back in New Philadelphia, Joe.” Jim was taking a big gamble by presenting that bit of news to Joe in this manner. He could only hope it paid off in the end.

“I’ve never been there before, is it nice?” Joe mumbled, not sure if that’s what Jim wanted to hear.

“Are you asking to come with me, Joe?” Jim wanted to dance an Irish jig around the bedroom but managed to stand still.

“I’d go anywhere with you, Jim if you’d just take me back. I’m so sorry I did this to us.”

 Joe’s eyes held a sadness that broke Jim’s heart. He’d suffered enough. Jim walked back to their bed and sat down beside Joe. “I’m sorry I let you do this to us, Joe. I should have fought harder to keep us together, would have if that creep hadn’t grabbed me in the liquor store.”

Joe found a smile. “Is that why there was six-pack of my favorite beer in your shopping basket?”

Jim laughed and reached up to cradle Joe’s face in his hands. “Yeah, I was gonna call for pizza too, you know, the kind with extra pepperoni. Try to butter you’d up so you’d give us another chance.”

“I thought Bane wanted me and if we were apart it would be easier for him to get me while keeping you safe.”

“That is _the_ dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, Joe.” Jim broke out laughing.

“I didn’t say it was smart…” Joe giggled with Jim and pulled Jim to lay against his chest.

Jim was content to let Joe hold him. He burrowed his face into Joe’s neck.

“I love you so much, Jim. Stay with me. Stay here in New York and build a life with me.”

Jim pulled back to look into Joe’s eyes. He could see so much hope in their deep green depths. “There are going to be other serial killers you know, other horrible people who will come into our lives and want us dead, Joe. You gonna break up with me every time someone threatens me? Cause if so, we’re better off apart.” Jim felt like his lungs were filled with broken glass. He hated asking the question, but he had to know Joe was in this permanently and not just when times were good.

Joe opened his mouth to respond and couldn’t. He was so choked up on emotion he couldn’t speak. He just shook his head no and pulled Jim back into his chest. “No, Jim.” He whispered minutes later. “I’ll never leave you again. Please, Jim. Please say you’ll stay, say you love me too.” Great, heaving sobs tore through Dredd. He could survive this, so long as Jim was alive he could make it through losing him if that’s what Jim chose.

“I love you too, you big dumb jerk.” Jim swing himself around so he was sitting in Joe’s lap rather than lying against his chest. “I’ll need to go back to Philly for a few days to pack my apartment and clear out my locker. You wanna come along?”

“You’re saying you’ll stay?”

“I’m staying.”

Joe pulled Jim close and licked across his bottom lip, all the while staring into Jim’s sky blue eyes.  “Why did you do it, Jim, why did you stab the light with the scalpel, why didn’t you just turn it on Bane?” This question had been haunting Joe for the last month. Now that his heart didn’t feel quite so fragile, he needed an answer.

“My feet were still bound, I knew my ribs were broken and was pretty sure I had a concussion, I didn’t think I could take Bane in a fight. You saw him, how big he was and with a mechanical heart fueling him, I couldn’t take the chance I’d take him down with the tiny blade of the scalpel. I couldn’t risk your life on that one chance, Joe.”

“Never again, Jim. Do you hear me, never take such a risk with your life again. My heart can’t take it.”

“Well it’s a good thing you’ve got two of them now!”

 

Six months later…

“Where the hell are you, Dredd?”

“Eighth and Broadway, get your ass over here now!” Dredd could hear Jim’s pounding footsteps through the com.

“Way ahead of you, old man, tenth and Broadway, creeps are cutting down a side alley, gotta head ‘em off.” Jim was panting for breath as he continued to run.

“Stun!” He heard Joe’s gravelly voice command, seconds before two stun rounds burst from his Lawgiver. Jim ran down the alley just as the perps hit the ground.

“Nice of you to finally make it, Judge _Dredd_.” Joe said, his grin a mile wide.

“Bite me, Dredd.” Jim chirped in response.

“When I get you home tonight…”

“Promises, promises, Dredd.”  Jim winked and called for transport to the cubes for these kids who’d been dumb enough to sell drugs on a blocked patrolled by the Judge Dredds.

 It had been one hell of a fight to allow Jim and Joe to remain partners on the street. The Judge Corps didn’t much like it when its Judges got married at all much less to each other and they certainly didn’t want married couples on patrol together. Joe made it crystal clear that if he couldn’t ride with his new husband, neither of them would ride at all. It wasn’t the first time Joe had threatened to turn in his helmet for civilian life, but he was fully prepared to walk away from the law forever. Chief Judge Hershey finally relented, not wanting to lose two of her best Street Judges.

Transport arrived and hauled the two stunned kids off to their date in the cubes.

“You ‘bout ready to get back on patrol, Jim?” Joe asked as they reached the spot where they’d left their Lawmasters.

Jim was slugging water from the bottle in his saddlebag. He nodded and pressed the button to his com. “Control, Dredds reporting active.” He said as he mounted his bike.

“Copy that, Dredds on patrol, Jim.”

They merged their bikes back onto the parkway and resumed their patrol. The streets of Mega-City One were much safer now that two Judge Dredds were on patrol.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Judge Dredd having two hearts is rather Whovian, don’t you think? Time Lords have two hearts, why not Judge Dredd! The idea of being able to clone organs is fascinating. 
> 
> I need to thank every single one you who have read this story!! I realize this is a tiny ship but thank you all so much for taking a chance on these characters and on me! Of course Jim and Joe are based on Karl Urban and Chris Pine. My Jim Kirk was in no way meant to be true to the Captain of the Enterprise. 
> 
> It's always bittersweet coming to the end of a story. I started kicking this idea around in my head back in March and started writing it in April. These characters have been with me for seven months now and it's going to be hard not have their voices in my head every week! 
> 
> For those of you who enjoyed this story, I would urge you to try Georgia On My Mind. It's a modern day McKirk AU. If you loved Jim and Joe, you'll love Jim and Bones. This story has 26 published chapters and many, many more to come!! 
> 
> Love and Hugs!  
> H


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